The Darkest Light
by Evergreen98
Summary: Anakin Skywalker is in grave danger. The Dark Side of the force surrounds him, it pulls him in with its power even as he tries to fight it. Can Obi-Wan and the other Jedi save Skywalker before his fate is sealed? Or is it even possible for him to be pulled to the light?
1. Chapter 1

**Note for before: This story takes place before RotS. Ahsoka is still Anakin's padawan (which will be important later). This is kind of a rewrite from that point onward, and it's basically just an idea I had about Anakin's fall to the dark side.**

**Okay, that's pretty much it. Enjoy!**

**x X x**

Anakin feels darkness.

It surrounds him, coating his senses. it blocks out everything around him, makes him forget who he really is. The only thing the darkness leaves for him to feel is the pain.

There is plenty of that for him to feel.

The pain comes in waves, never ceasing. The darkness keeps him from blacking out, from hiding from the horrors that mark his waking. If anything, when he closes his eyes the pain becomes worse.

His mind constantly tells him that it cannot possibly get any worse, but he is constantly proved wrong.

With very passing second it becomes more unbearable. The suffering only grows, never ceasing. The light disappeared long ago, in its place now is only darkness.

Anakin's resolve to fight the darkness is thinning, and his strength is running low. His time is quickly fading.

The darkness will soon win.

Suddenly, a light pulse runs through Anakin. A familiar presence brushes against his mind, so faint it is as frail a piece of frayed thread.

Anakin latches onto this small bit of light, and he revels in the tiny amount of comfort it brings him.

_Obi-Wan, _Anakin thinks, and he relaxes as his old friend's familiar presence washes over him.

Anakin can feel the sharp pang of worry that runs through Obi-Wan as he senses the darkness surrounding Anakin.

Obi-Wan's concern rushes through Anakin. With it comes a strong sense of protectiveness he has never felt form his old master before.

Anakin realizes that by Obi-Wan contacting him, his mentor will now try and rescue him.

_No, _Anakin thinks to himself, and he tries with all his might to send his thoughts through space to Obi-Wan. _No! If you come, they will only torture you as well! The darkness is too strong!_

Using what little strength he still possesses, Anakin pushes all the pain and suffering he is feeling towards his friend in an effort to warn him. He tries with all his might to push his mentor away.

If anything, the wave of protectiveness grows Anakin feels grows stronger over as he senses his former master's newfound determination to find him.

_No, stay away!_ Anakin calls out in vain. It's too late now. Obi-Wan is set on saving his friend, and Anakin's efforts to stop the man only strengthen his resolve.

What little strength Anakin still possessed rushes out of him as Obi-Wan's presence fades away. Anakin feels as though a heavy weight of sorrow is pressing on him, forcing him down.

As if it senses his sudden weakness, the darkness pounces on its prey. Anakin screams as a fresh wave of pain washes over him as he tries to fight the oppressive force.

Anakin can feel his resolve weakening. He can feel the darkness winning. Anakin attempts one last time to contact his old master before the darkness beats him, before it washes away all that he is.

_I tried to fight it, master, I tried, _Anakin's fraying mind cries out.

With a sudden push, the darkness presses past his walls. It flows over him in waves, it blurs away his identity. The darkness takes away everything that makes up who he is.

Far in the distance, Anakin can hear a crazed laugh that cackles with manic joy. As his mind fades away, he can't help but think that he knows that voice from somewhere. . . It belongs to someone he once knew. Someone he considered a friend.

These thoughts are quickly washed away as the darkness replaces everything. In moments, Anakin's mind is numb.

Everything quickly fades to black.

**x X x**

"We lost contact with Anakin a week ago," Obi-wan says as he stands before the council. It takes him much effort to control his emotions when it comes to his friend.

Especially when he knows something is wrong. Something is terribly wrong.

"You can sense that something is wrong?" Mace Windu says, referring to the reason why Obi-wan asked to speak before the council. Obi-Wan nods at this.

"What exactly do you feel?" Yoda asks, and the ancient master betrays no hints on his true thoughts. Instead he gestures for Obi-Wan to speak.

Obi-Wan sighs as he pulls the feelings to mind, and he struggles to name them. They are feelings he doesn't want to remember sensing.

"I feel a great sense of pain and fear surrounding Anakin," Obi-Wan says and his voice shakes, "something terrible is happening. I sense. . ."

He falls silent as he suddenly realizes the feeling that overshadows all the others, one that is the cause and source of it all.

"You sense what?" Windu asks, and he leans forward in his seat. His expression is blank, but Obi-Wan can sense the anticipation of his question.

Obi-Wan takes a deep breath before he speaks again, and he steels himself for the reactions.

"I sense darkness. It covers everything. It clouds my senses every time I reach out," Obi-Wan says softly.

Windu leans back in his chair, and he crosses his arms over his chest. His face shows an expression of resignation, as though he needs to hear nothing else.

He has made his opinions of Anakin very clear from the beginning.

The multiple Jedi that make up the council immediately begin to speak all at once, but a wave from Yoda quickly silences them all. Everyone turns to the small green creature to see his reaction.

Yoda closes his eyes, and he doesn't move. Quiet falls on the council room as they wait for the grand master to speak.

After a few minutes, Yoda eventually opens his eyes. His expression is grave, and it is almost as if a senses of great tiredness has fallen on the master. It takes him another few minutes to speak, and when he does his voice is soft.

"Sense it, I do. Great darkness surrounding young Skywalker, there is," Yoda says.

Once again everyone moves to speak at once (Windu being one of the most eager), but before anyone can get a word in Yoda speaks once more.

"The cause of this darkness, Skywalker is not," Yoda says, and his expression becomes troubled.

"He's not the cause of it?" Obi-Wan asks, and hope flutters in his heart. Immediately he feels shame at the thought that his once-padawan had turned to the dark side.

"Turned, he has not," Yoda says, "though grave danger he is in. Turn to the dark side, he still could. Surrounds him, the darkness does."

"We have to help him," Obi-Wan says, and Yoda nods.

"Yes, but go alone you will not," he says, "too dangerous to send you alone, it is."

Quiet falls over the council once more as each of its members wonder if they will be one of the Jedi chosen. Yoda speaks once more, and his words punctuate the harsh silence.

"Save Skywalker, we must," Yoda says wearily, "or all hope will be lost."

**x X x**

"Can I please go with you Master Obi-Wan? He's my master," Ahsoka pleads with the man as he sorts out the supplies he will need for his journey.

"Ahsoka it is too dangerous for a padawan," Obi-Wan says, and Ahsoka sighs.

Obi-Wan has to hide a smile at this. In more ways than one, Anakin has rubbed off on his young padawan.

"But I can help! My master needs me! I can feel it," she declares, and Obi-Wan turns to face her.

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asks, a frown crossing his face. The young togruta shakes her head.

"I have a bad feeling every time I reach out," she says, and Obi-Wan senses the sudden wave of fear that washes through her.

"Can you describe it?" Obi-Wan asks, and if anything his urgency to save his friend deepens.

"I sense. . . darkness, pain, suffering," Ahsoka says, and her voice falls to a whisper, "it's awful."

Obi-Wan lays a comforting hand on the young padawan's shoulder, and he gives her the most sincere smile he can.

"I'm going to do everything I can to save him, Ahsoka," he says, "you must trust me."

The girl closes her eyes, and she shakily nods her head. She takes a deep breath before she opens her eyes, and Obi-Wan approvingly senses that she is releasing her emotions into the force. The girl has come a long way in her training.

"Bring him back, Obi-Wan."

**x X x**

Obi-Wan walks towards the ship, the two Jedi that were chosen to accompany him walking by his side.

Obi-Wan can sense the concern that Shaak Ti feels, as it mirrors his own emotions. Neither of them know what they will face when they reach their destination.

On the other hand, Mace Windu has a look of resignation on his face. He has made his opinions of Skywalker quite clear, and a rescue mission to save the man isn't exactly his highest priority.

The three Jedi make their way to the small ship they will be taking to the planet where Anakin was last contacted. Yoda is waiting for them just outside the loading ramp.

The three stop just before the ancient master, and they wait for him to speak before embarking. Yoda's face still holds the troubled look he had when he first sensed the darkness surrounding Anakin.

"Know what you will face on this mission, I do not," Yoda says slowly, "careful, you must be. May the force be with you."

The three Jedi bow to the master before they move to board the ship. The small crew of clones that was selected for the mission is already stationed inside.

The Jedi make their way to the cockpit where two clones are already preparing for takeoff.

The ship starts up, and the pilot maneuvers it out of the hangar and into open space.

When they finally exit the crowded atmosphere of Coruscant, the pilot turns to the Obi-Wan

"What coordinates should I type in for hyperspace, General Kenobi?" he asks.

Due to the importance of the mission Anakin had been sent on, his exact location had been kept secret until now.

"We're headed to the Balanor System in the Noonian Sector. Grid coordinates M-6," Obi-Wan says, his voice monotone.

"We're going to the outer rim, sir?" The clone asks as he inputs the coordinates.

"Yes," Windu replies shortly.

The three Jedi move to their seats as the ship is prepped for hyperspace.

"I have a bad feeling about this. The dark side clouds everything," Shaak Ti says, echoing the thoughts on the other tow Jedi's minds.

"We have no choice," Obi-Wan replies.

The ship suddenly shoots forward, and the glass in front of them is instantly filled with flashing lights as stars shoot by.

The ship is pulled into hyperspace at unimaginable speeds, and their destination grows ever closer with every passing light.

As they sit quietly, each Jedi ponders what they will find on the planet of Balanor. None of them force their fears and suspicions aloud, and that is well.

For none of them can begin to guess the truth.

What they will find upon their arrival is beyond their most horrid dreams.

**x X x**

**Okay, so...yeah!**

**Is this a good idea? Should I continue? I kind of wrote this on a whim, but if anyone likes it I will continue!**

**Please share your thoughts on if I should go through with writing this!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much for the reviews I received!**

**Enjoy!**

**x X x**

The lush, green planet of Balanor speeds into view as the Jedi ship comes out of hyperspace.

The three Jedi on board the craft can instantly feel the darkness surrounding the planet. It is harsh and unnatural.

"Prepare to enter the atmosphere," Obi-Wan commands, even though his senses are screaming for him to leave as fast as he can.

Whatever lies below is something he dreads to face.

"Type in the coordinates where Skywalker last contacted us from," Windu says, and one of the clones moves to punch in the string of numbers.

"Sir, what exactly are we going to find down there?" One of the clones asks as the ship flies towards the ships surface.

He is voicing the question that is on all of his comrades minds. They don't have to be force-sensitive to realize something is off here.

Obi-Wan takes a deep breath before answering, and he releases it slowly with a sigh.

"We don't know."

**x X x**

The Jedi step off of the ramp leading from the ship, into the dense mass of trees that surrounds them.

Balanor is known for its vast rain forests, ones that hold many hidden dangers. Many that venture in do not return.

Obi-Wan should have known not to send Anakin on a mission here. Any information that could have been found in the small Separatist base located on the planet's small moon seems absolutely worthless now.

"Which way now, Sir?" one of the clones asks. Obi-Wan mentally chides himself for not taking the time to learn their names.

At the moment he's been too preoccupied for anything else.

Obi-Wan stretches out his senses, and in moments he finds Anakin's presence. He reached his mind out to his old friend's. . .

And he is hit with a wall of thick darkness.

Obi-Wan hastily pulls his mind back, and he struggles to remain standing.

"That way," he says, and he points off into the direction from which he sensed his friend.

Without a word the group, three Jedi and five clones, sets off into the jungle.

As they walk the group remains silent. Darkness swirls through the air, and one can almost taste it as they breathe.

Shaak Ti quickens her pace so that she is walking besides Obi-Wan. When she speaks her voice is soft.

"What is causing this?" she whispers, and Obi-Wan shakes his head.

"Along with everything surrounding this, I don't know," he says in reply, and his tone is also soft.

Even so, it is almost as if their muted tones stir the darkness. If anything it clings to them more.

Shaak Ti shudders beside Obi-Wan, and he resists the urge to copy her action.

The Dark side is strong in this place.

Windu falls back to join them, and the two Jedi can tell that he is having a similar reaction to the oppressive darkness here.

With every step that Obi-Wan takes towards Anakin's location, his former padawan's presence grows stronger.

Along with this the darkness also grows. The forces, the missing Jedi and the dark side, mingle together. They are nearly impossible to tell apart.

"I don't like this," Windu says grimly, "not one bit."

**x X x**

**"**What is that?" One of the clones asks. One who for whose name Obi-Wan cannot remember.

Even though he asked for it only a few standard hours earlier. In his distracted state (which is a result of worrying over his friend) it didn't take long for him to forget it.

The small group is currently crouched at the edge of a small clearing, in the middle of which is a small building made of rusting metal.

There is no sign of life on or around the ancient structure, instead it looks as if it has been abandoned for many years.

"It's some kind of. . .base," Shaak Ti says as she observes the structure.

"If it can be called that," Obi-Wan mutters as he observes the sad structure.

"Do we have a plan of attack?" one of the nameless clones asks.

"We get in, get Anakin, and we get out. As fast as possible, with minimal casualties," he says, and his voice is stern.

"Copy that," the clone says in reply, and he and his comrades ready their weapons.

"I just wish we knew what we'll find in there," Shaak Ti says as she glances warily at the base.

"We'll find out soon enough," Obi-Wan says.

He can sense Anakin's presence, now as though it is below him. The small base ahead of them seems to lead to a larger structure below the ground. Obi-Wan cannot tell how far down it goes.

The group cautiously makes their way out into the open, away from the small bit of protection the jungle provided. The clones hold their blasters ready, and the Jedi keep their hands on their lightsabers. The group is poised and ready for an attack.

In a few minutes they reach the front door of the compound, if it can even be called that.

It is a square sheet of metal, hasitly propped against the opening. Painted across the "door" is a giant red X, with the imprint of a skull atop it.

This omen doesn't do much to alleviate their anxiety on entering the place.

"This place looks as though its been abandoned a long time, sir," one of the clones says, and he gestures to the ancient structure.

The paint that makes up the foreboding symbol is cracked and peeling, giving the impression that it was painted long ago. The entire structure looks frail and is covered in rust. All in all it looks completely abandoned.

But Obi-Wan knows that it is Anakin's presence he feels below.

Shaak Ti suddenly leans forward, observing something in the muddy ground before her.

"Someone was here recently," she says, and she motions to a slight indentation of a footprint that marks the ground before the door.

"Is it possible that someone is trying to make it look abandoned, sir?" another one of the clones asks, "to keep unwanted people away?"

"Quite possible," Windu says, "and highly probable. I suppose this decides it."

The man raises his hand, and he concentrates upon the force. The heavy metal sheet levitates, lifting away from the opening. Windu moves his hand and the piece floats to the side.

Behind the opening, a dark hole is revealed. The light from the bright day outside is only able to penetrate a few feet in before the darkness swallows up the light.

Anything could be hiding in the shadows below.

The three Jedi ignite their lightsabers, and Obi-Wan takes a cautious step towards the entrance. He walks through the opening, and he steps into the shadows of the cavern.

The Dark Side grows stronger, swirling around them now.

Obi-Wan continues forward, the rest of the group trailing behind him.

The corridor has a floor of hard-packed earth, and the walls are rusted metal. Several supports are in propped against the walls to keep the sagging ceiling in place.

The floor slopes down in a sharp incline, and it is not long before they are below ground. The metal walls turn to earth and stone, and these make natural barriers to trap them in. The layers of earth above them seem to be pressing down, closing off any escape.

Obi-Wan shivers slightly before he releases his anxieties into the force. The Dark Side is strong here, and any sign of weakness will cause it to pounce.

The group walks on into the dark with only the glow of the three lightsabers to light the way.

They walk on.

**x X x**

After about half a standard hour of walking, in which they cover much ground, the tunnel suddenly stops.

The group is far below the ground now, far awar from the light above. There is only darkness here.

The path they have been following comes to a dead end in a small circular room. The stone around them has been harshly carved out to make this tiny alcove.

In the center of the room is a metal grate.

Shaak Ti walks over to kneel besides the metal covering, and the others move to join her.

The covering is old and rusted, much like with everything else in this place. Similar to the entrance of this place, there is a red X splashed across the surface.

Shaak Ti runs a hand across the symbol, and when she draws her hand away it is covered with the flaking red chips of paint.

"I suppose this is our next direction?" she muses, a grim amusement taking place inside her, "wherever it will take us."

"It will take us to Anakin," Obi-wan says, and his tone is as firm as stone.

"Be careful not to let your emotions get in the way," Windu says, and he turns his stern gaze onto his fellow Jedi, "having attachements is a fast path to the Dark Side."

Obi-wan takes a deep breath before answering, and when he does so his voice has a cold tone to it.

"Anakin is simply a friend, and he was my padwan. He is also a fellow Jedi and he is in danger," Obi-wan says. He doesn't add that, to him, Anakin is more than a friend. He is more like a brother, or a son.

He can't let anything happen to him.

"Do well to remember that," Windu says, and he keeps his watching gaze on Obi-wan a moment too long for the younger man's liking.

Shaak Ti stands up from her kneeling position next to the grate. She shows no sign of emotion over what just transpired between the two other Jedi. Instead, with a wave of her hand, she removes the grate from its place.

Shaak Ti holds her lightsaber over the opening, and through the glow it casts a tunnel is revealed. This one is made of metal, and is sloped slightly in a sliding fashion.

"We do not know what we will find at the bottom," she says as she observes the opening cautiously.

"No," Windu says in reply.

**x X x**

Shaak Ti nods at Windu's words, and she deactivates her lightsaber. She takes a cautious step towards the opening, now visible only by the glow from the other two Jedi blades.

She stares down at the opening for a moment, looking down into the unknown darkness below. She searches the tunnel, almost as if it will reveal an answer to what is lying unknown in the dark.

Whether Shaak Ti finds something in her search or not doesn't matter, because she knows that she must go into the darkness no matter the danger. She takes in a slight breath before stepping forward. . .

She instantly disappears into the darkness below.

Shaak Ti slides down the tunnel, spinning around the turns it takes her in her travel downwards.

She can sense that the others are following her down the tunnel.

Vaguely, she notices that the tunnel is not like the previous architecture they had seen in the building. This is instead made of metal that is sleek and new, polished and clean.

Ready for use.

The group slides down the tunnel, which seems to be endless. With every turn they take another one appears in its place.

They go deeper, and deeper into the depths below.

**x X x**

After what feels like eternity, but what has really only been a quarter of a standard hour, Shaak Ti senses the end of the tunnel approaching. She braces herself for what she will face upon her exit from the tunnel.

She tilts her head up slightly from her sliding positin (due to the cramped size of the tunnel they were forced to slide lying down) and she can see what appears to be a light in the distance.

It is rapidly growing closer.

Shaak Ti braces herself as the bright circle of light grows closer. Instinctively she closes her eyes so as not the be blinded by the light upon her exit from the tunnel. She relies purely on her senses alone.

She feels her body shoot out of the tunnel, into the light. Relying on her senses alone, she twirls herself in the air, turning herself around. She lands on the ground in a crouched position.

Shaak Ti stretches her senses out quickly, but to her surprise there are no immenint threats in the area. The only thing she senses is the oppressive darkness that has remained constant since their arrival.

A thump beside her alerts her that one of her comrades, Mace Windu, has arrived. Cautiously Shaak Ti tries to open her eyes.

She is met with a blinding flash of light, one that causes bright spots to flash in her eyes. She forces herself to blink several times. Eventually the spots disappear and she can observe her surroundings.

Shaak Ti looks up just in time to see Obi-Wan fly out of the tunnel's opening. He lands lightly, also with his eyes closed agains the harsh light. She quickly moves out of the way as the rest of the group follows.

The clones land with less grace than the Jedi. The tumble out of the opening, landing in a heap on the floor.

They get up quickly, because they are not affected by the harsh light as badly. Their helmets help shield the harsher tones of brightness.

Shaak Ti sends another glance at their surroundings, uneasiness flying through her.

They have landed in a small room, with one door off to the side. A noticable difference is the style here.

Everything is cleaned, polished, and brand new. It screams in contrast to the structure they saw upon arrival. The group is far below the ground now, far away from the sky above. Even with the harsh lights there is only darkness here.

The room is a spotless white, and multiple lights blaze harshly above. The setting is planned to blind intruders upon entry.

This leaves Shaak Ti wary for attackers, but when she stretches out her senses no one is near. . .except one presence.

Faintly, she can sense Skywalker. It is hard though, with the darkness swirling around them. It clouds her senses, making everything seem dark.

When everyone has recovered from their fall down the tunnel, the group makes their way towards the door. Obi-Wan takes the lead now.

They cautiously step through the door (which, strangely, is unlocked), and they walk out into a long hallway.

This hall is also painted a spotless white and is illuminated with harsh lights, much like the room they just exited. Before them, the corridor stretches.

The white walls and blinding lights give the illusion that the hall is without end, stretching before them for eternity.

The weary group does the only natural thing.

They go onward.

**x X x**

**Please review! **

**Also, go check out my other Star Wars story!**


	3. Chapter 3

***Warning- I wouldn't exactly call what I put in this chapter graphic or violent, but I guess it is a tiny bit bloody.**

**Just warning you! Rated T for violence.**

**Enjoy!**

**x X x**

Vaguely, through the darkness, Anakin senses a familiar presence growing closer.

He shudders, and for a moment the darkness slips away. For a few seconds, Anakin has relief.

Then it comes back. The darkness coats everything, and it blocks his senses.

Even when the lights flicker on, Anakin is still left in darkness.

He shivers against it, even when he hears someone call his name. He tries to fight it even harder, but the darkness doesn't want to release him.

_"Anakin!"_

**o O o**

The group stands, unsure what to do. They have reached their destination.

At the end of the long hallway is a single door. This door is heavily reinforced, with a seriously encrypted lock on the side.

And the door is cracked open. The lock has been broken through by some force, and the door now swings out slightly.

It calls to them, beckoning them through its opening.

Obi-Wan knows that Anakin is on the other side of the door, and it is taking all his self control not to rush through the door.

"Do either of you sense any life forms in there besides Skywalker?" Shaak Ti asks in a soft whisper as she observes the door before them.

The three Jedi stretch out their senses, and for the millionth time they are met with darkness. Mingled in with the darkness is Anakin's presence.

"Even if there is anyone else in there his signature drowning them out," Windu replies.

"Is there a plan, sir?" one of the clones asks, and Obi-Wan shakes his head.

"No," he says.

He then proceeds to open the door with the force, and the heavy piece of metal swings out.

The group is faced with a room of complete darkness.

Obi-Wan steps into the door's opening, and he stares out into the pitch black. Everything about the room just seems. . .

Wrong.

"The power grid is here, sir," says one of the clones standing at the door's side, "I'll get the lights on."

The group stands still, waiting for the clone to turn the lights on. Each one in the group resists the im urge to cover their noses at the smell.

The room smells of rot and decay. The scent lies heavy in the air, mingling in with the darkness. The smell is overpowering, and it fills their noses and mouths with every breath. It is scent that can be described. . .

As death.

Obi-Wan stands stiffly beside his fellow Jedi, knowing that they sense what he does as well. It lies thick in the air, and the three Jedi can easily sense it.

The room has a feeling of death.

"Got it," the clone says, and a burst of sparks fly from the ceiling above.

A few of the lights sadly flicker to life, and they reveal the scene below.

Obi-Wan's eyes immediately go to the middle of the room, and he doesn't even notice the gasps of horror behind him.

In the center of the room, a table is positioned. On this table a man is heavily restrained with sturdy metal cuffs.

Anakin Skywalker.

Obi-Wan takes a hurried step forward, but he quickly stops when his foot connects with something soft. Warily he looks down.

Obi-Wan quickly jumps back when he realizes what he stepped on, and this quickly causes him to take a scan of the room. A scene of absolute horror meets him.

He quickly realizes where the scent and feel of death came from. His heart clenches as he observes the scene.

The room looks as though a bomb went off.

Bodies lie scattered, thrown across the room. Some of them were once guards, and their weapons have been flung to the side. The rest appear to be doctors, wearing all white outfits and holding various pieces of equipment in their lifeless hands.

All in all, twenty bodies litter the floor.

Vaguely Obi-Wan notices that all of the bodies are human, and no other species are present.

Suddenly, the lights above flicker, and sparks fly from the few that are glowing. Obi-Wan casts his gaze upwards, and more horrors are revealed.

Many of the lights hang precariously from the ceiling, as though dangling by a thread. In many of them the glass has shattered.

The tables and pieces of equipment that were located in the room are now thrown about. Some of the pieces are somehow lodged into the walls, and a chair dangles from one of the lights above.

Also hanging among the lights is something that looks suspiciously like. . .

Obi-Wan quickly looks away, and he forces his eyes toward the ground.

_Twenty one bodies, _he thinks to himself.

"What happened here. . . ?" Shaak Ti mutters as she takes in the horror before them.

Obi-Wan shakes his head, unable to form words. Whatever, or whoever, caused this had to have had a powerful weapon to inflict such damage.

Suddenly, a slight moan draws their attention. All eyes quickly search the room for the source before landing on the figure strapped to the table in the middle of the room.

Anakin shivers slightly, and his head rolls to the side. It is almost as if he senses the presences that have entered the room.

Immediately following this, a quiver shakes the room around them. Everything quakes once, and the lights flicker dangerously above them.

Quickly the shaking stops, but the group is left wary.

"What was that?" one of the clones asks, but he doesn't receive an answer.

Obi-Wan takes a deep breath before he slowly starts to make his way across the floor. He carefully sidesteps bodies on his way.

The rest of the group follows closely behind, and everyone keeps a steady hand on their weapons.

The room is silent except for the sound of their quiet footsteps and the occasional sound of sparks hissing from the lights above.

Obi-Wan quickly reaches his former-padawan, and he steps up beside the table where he is strapped down.

Obi-Wan tries to avert his eyes from the strange instruments scattered on the ground around them. He doesn't want to think what they are for.

The rest of the group steps up with him, and they surround the table.

Obi-Wan takes a moment to glance down at his old friend. He almost doesn't recognize him, and the sight of his injuries almost brings tears to his eyes.

Dark circles run beneath the young man's eyes. His shirt has been ripped away to reveal the many-colored bruises blossoming across his chest, and these are accompanied by multiple scrapes and scratches.

His shoulder-length hair is damp with sweat, and in a few places flecked with drops of dried blood.

This same substance is also splashed his skin in many places. The dark red stands out against his unhealthily pale skin.

Heavy metal restraints ring all of his limbs. Extra ones are also in place to keep his gold metal limb down.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan says softly, and hope fills his voice.

Anakin shifts slightly, and a look of pain crosses his face. Immediately following this another quiver runs trough the room.

"Is it some sort of earthquake?" one of the clones asks as they try to regain their footing on the unsteady ground.

"I don't know," Shaak Ti replies, and she looks troubled. Many in the group cast worried glances at the room around them.

Obi-Wan tries to contact his friend again, this time stretching out with the force as he speaks. He pours as much comfort and security as he can to his friend.

"Anakin," He says, and he cautiously lays a hand on the man's shoulder. He tries to avoid touching the nastier looking cuts and bruises as he doesn't want to cause any more pain.

Another shock wave runs through the room, this one much more powerful. It lasts several seconds longer, and the lights above away dangerously. The chair that was lodged in the ceiling above falls to the ground.

Throughout this, Obi-Wan keeps his eyes on his former-padawan. The man still remains unresponsive.

"Obi-Wan-," Windu begins, but whatever he is about to say is quickly cut off.

All gazes are turned to the pair of blue eyes that suddenly opened.

Anakin takes in a ragged breath, and he releases it with a slow sigh. He ten winces as though this small action causes him pain.

"Obi-Wan," he says, and his voice is weak and unsure.

Obi-Wan wastes no time breaking his friend out of the chains. He pulls his lightsaber out, and he begins to slice them open. Shaak Ti quickly moves to help.

When the last of the bonds have been removed, Obi-Wan helps his friend to sit up. Anakin has to lean heavily on Obi-Wan for support.

The younger man shivers slightly, and Obi-Wan hurries to remove his cloak to wrap it around his friend.

"Skywalker, what happened here?" Windu cuts in, quickly getting to the point. The man gestures to the room around them, and the bodies lying there.

Obi-Wan resists the urge to glare at the man as Anakin struggles to answer. Instead Obi-Wan turns his attention back to his friend, and he restrains himself from releasing his own sea of questions on the weakened man.

Anakin slowly lets his gaze trail the room, and his eyes seem oddly unfocused. It is almost as though he doesn't see the bodies surrounding him.

Obi-Wan can tell that something is seriously wrong, and it's more than his injuries. Something inside his friend is. . .broken.

Another shudder racks the room, but this time it is quick and short.

"What do you mean?" Anakin asks, and his voice is hoarse with disuse. Windu gives him a disbelieving look, and he gestures too the bodies once more.

"It looks like a bomb went off in here. These people, how did they die?" Windu asks, and his voice has a sharp tone to it.

Anakin's eyes become unfocused, and he shivers as if remembering something unpleasant.

Another shudder runs through the room, and it almost drowns out Anakin's next words. Almost, but not quite.

"I didn't mean to."

Windu frowns at him, as though he hadn't heard him right.

"You didn't mean to what?" Windu asks.

Another shudder runs through the room, immediately following the last one.

"They were hurting me," Anakin says, and though his voice sounds almost childlike there is a violent edge to it.

Sudden realization comes to the group, and a sick feeling works it's way into Obi-Wan's stomach.

"Anakin, what did you do?" Obi-Wan asks.

Anakin shudders one more, and another quiver wrack the room. Vaguely Obi-Wan feels he should be worrying about this earthquake they are feeling, but he is too caught up in the current situation.

"They were doing. . .awful things," Anakin says, and it seems as though he is struggling to find words to describe what happened, "I wanted them to stop, so I just. . .pushed. With the force."

Silence falls on the room once more, and the only sound is the constant quiver of the floors. A spray of sparks flies from above, and one of the few lights goes out. The room grows a bit darker.

Windu quickly breaks the silence.

"You used the dark side," he says, and his voice has a note of finality to it. Vaguely Obi-Wan notices that the older Jedi's hand is slowly sneaking to its lightsaber.

A sudden growl draws everyone's attention, and they all turn back to see Anakin. What Obi-Wan sees strikes fear in his heart.

As he watches, Anakin's eyes that were once a cool blue. . .slowly begin to flood with yellow.

"I didn't," he hisses.

Another quake rocks the room, this one more powerful than the rest. Obi-Wan suddenly comes to a realization, all the pieces clicking in his mind.

"Anakin, you need to calm down," Obi-Wan says, his voice taking a note close to pleading.

Shaak Ti and Windu give Obi-Wan odd looks until the same realization that hit him comes to them. Their eyes also flicker with something close to fear.

Obi-Wan keeps his gaze focuses on Anakin. The younger Jedi has turned to face his former-master. Obi-Wan struggles to meet the blue eyes that are now rimmed with a slight circle of yellow, a circle that is slowly growing.

"Anakin, please calm down. You're safe, and we're all going to go back to the temple now," Obi-Wan says, and as he speaks he pushes a wave of calm towards his friend.

Anakin seems ready to fight back, but luckily Shaak Ti quickly jumps in. She sends her own force of calm towards Anakin, and she speaks in soothing tones.

"You're safe now, Skywalker," she says, and she gives him a small smile, "everything is going to be alright."

Anakin watches them carefully, and for a moment it is as if the air itself is holding its breath. The darkness around them fluctuates.

Then, as if a switch has been flipped, the darkness suddenly disappears. It is as though a weight has been lifted off of everyone in the room.

Anakin slumps forward, but Shaak Ti and Obi-Wan hurry to catch him.

Anakin wearily turns to face his master, and Obi-Wan is overjoyed to be faced with eyes that are devoid of any color other than blue.

"Obi-Wan," Anakin says wearily, and his voice sound even more tired than before.

"Everything's alright now, Anakin," Obi-Wan says, and he forces a smile.

Everyone in the room knows that he's lying.

**x X x**

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	4. Chapter 4

**Enjoy!**

**x X x**

Obi-Wan guides Anakin off of the table, but the moment the man tries to stand he almost falls. He has to lean heavily on Obi-Wan for support.

Shaak Ti turns, and she observes the room for some sign of an exit. The way they entered isn't exactly an option.

A moment later one of the clones voices her questions.

"How are we going to get out?" he, "I don't think we can climb out of those tunnels."

Anakin raises his head to answer. Shaak Ti takes a moment to observe the man as he speaks.

_He just looks so drained, _Shaak Ti thinks to herself, _when we found him he was barely able to think straight._

These thoughts lead Shaak Ti'd mind to the thoughts that have been plaguing every other person in the group.

_What exactly did they do to him?_

"There's an exit over there," Anakin says, and he waves a hand in the direction of the corner.

One of the larger observation tables has been flung into this space, and it blocks whatever piece of wall lies behind it.

The group walls over, and Windu lifts the table using the force. It hovers in the air for a moment before it is flung to the side.

Shaak Ti observes the door that is revealed.

It is made of thick metal, just like the door they entered through. It is heavily reinforced and locked with a print-sensitive lock. Only those whose prints are registered into the system should be able to unlock this door.

Shaak Ti glances around the room once more, and certain thoughts pull at her mind.

Everything about the room has been designed to keep a prisoner _in _keep intruders _out._

The room is designed in such a way that no unarmed Jedi should be unable to escape. The metal composition in the doors and the locks should be too hard to break, and their is miles of rock surrounding them.

And yet, somehow, this door has been blasted open just like the one they found upon entering the room.

_So their prisoner was more powerful than they planned, _Shaak Ti thinks to herself. She shudders as she thinks of the sheer power it must have taken to break open the doors.

_Why did he not escape when he had the chance?_ Shaak Ti wonders, and confusion fills her. Anakin didn't even break the metal restraints holding him, and those would have been much easier to rip off than blasting a door open.

Her thoughts quickly spin back to the state that they found the man in, and her question is immediately answered. This thought only reinforced Shaak Ti's belief that the man wasn't in control of emotions.

Somehow in his frantic state the man managed to tap into the vault of power inside of him.

Shaak Ti shakes her head to clear her mind and focus on the task ahead of them. She can ponder over these things more when the group is safely away.

She pulls the door open using the force, and the group walks through the opening. Upon entry the weary group is met with a new room.

One of the clones moves to turn the power on.

A quick observation reveals a wall of screens at the back of the room, and a control panel in the center. Another door is positioned at the back of the room.

The group moves towards this exit, but Shaak Ti is not ready to move on. She holds up a hand to stop their progress.

"I want to see if I can get any information from these panels," Shaak Ti says, "we can study this information later to find out. . ."

She stops there, unwilling to continue. Everyone understands her meaning though.

They need to find out what was done to Skywalker.

_This way I might actually get some answers, _Shaak Ti thinks to herself.

Shaak Ti moves over to the control panel, and she attempts to start the machine up. The buttons scattered across the table glow weakly for a moment before blinking out.

"The whole system has been fried," one of the clones says, "someone doesn't want anyone to see what's on here."

"We can always extract whatever data is salvageable," another clone chimes in.

Shaak Ti observes the equipment for a moment, and she runs their options trough her mind.

"Extract as much of the information as you can, and store it on a data chip," she says. Two of the clones hurry to comply.

While they were speaking Obi-Wan had helped Anakin to a chair in the corner of the room. The young man is barely strong enough to stand on his own.

Shaak Ti observes the pair as they quietly converse. She knows that the bond the two share is much stronger than what a master and padawan should have.

Mace Windu comes to stand beside Shaak Ti, and he also observes the two.

"What do you think of what we saw earlier?" he asks, and she turns to face him slowly.

"What do you mean exactly?" she asks, not knowing exactly what he is referring to, "you must specify, as we have seen and learned much today."

"Anakin used the dark side," Windu says softly, so as not to be heard by anyone else in the room.

Shaak Ti sighs, and she pauses before speaking once more. Honestly, she doesn't know what to think on the topic. Her thoughts on the matter are still very mixed and confused.

"He has obviously been under immense torture for the last week," she says, and she keeps her voice just as soft, "everyone has a breaking point."

Windu doesn't seem satisfied with her answer.

"So you believe his actions are justified?" He whispers, and his voice has a cold tone to it. Shaat Ti shakes her head.

"I simply believe that he was most likely not in his right mind when it happened," Shaak Ti says slowly, and she chooses her words carefully, "you saw him when we found him."

Windu seems like he is about to question her further on the matter, but he is stopped when the clones announce that they are done extracting the data from the system.

Shaak Ti is relieved that she doesn't have to answer any more of Windu's questions.

_I don't even know what to believe on the matter, _Shaak Ti thinks to herself, _everything is still so clouded. . ._

She hopes that everything will become clearer when they are far away from this planet. The force is still too clouded by the dark side here.

"Let's get out of here," Obi-Wan says, and his words echo everyone's wishes.

Everyone happily complies.

**x X x**

A long walk through the dark and endless hallways leads the group to an elevator.

Once the doors have shut behind them, the elevator immediately heads up without any stops. It appears that the level far below ground is the only floor down there.

After half of a standard hour of standing cramped inside the metal box, the doors finally open.

The group quickly makes their way out into the hot and humid air of the jungle, and they are grateful to be free of the confined space.

"Where exactly are we?" one of the clones asks, and this causes the group to look around at their surroundings. Thy are nowhere near the small base that they entered.

Another clone brings up a scanner to try and find their location, and a moment later he speaks.

"We traveled quite a ways north," the clone says, "now we're only about two klicks from our ship."

No one is surprised by the distance they traveled. They walked a very long time in those tunnels, and eventually they must have circles around towards the direction where they landed.

"I suppose it would be best if we started walking the," Shaak Ti says, and she turns her gaze skywards towards the setting sun, "this is not a planet that I would like to to remain on after nightfall."

The group sets off, following the clone with the directions. Their pace is slowed somewhat to allow for Skywalker's weakened form.

Shaak Ti moves up towards the pair, and she asks a question that appeared in her mind as they were walking through the abandoned halls.

"Skywalker," she asks, and the man turns slightly to face her, "was there anyone else in the compound besides those in that room?"

Anakin nods, and he thinks for a moment before replying.

"There were many more guards stationed in and around the compound, but I didn't see any of them when we were leaving," he says.

"That is odd," Obi-Wan comments.

Uneasiness sets inside of Shaak Ti, even though she can't pinpoint _why_.

She believes it has something to do with how they retrieved Skywalker. Something about the entire process just seemed so precise and pre-planned, so. . .

Easy.

Shaak Ti forces herself to push these thoughts from her mind. Their main focus now should getting off and away from this planet.

"Anakin," she says quickly as a thought forms in her mind, "is there anyone else you remember? Maybe the person that planned all of this? The one that brought you here?"

Anakin frowns, and a look of concentration crosses his face.

"Everything's still kind of blurry-," he says, but he stops quickly halfway through the sentence.

Anakin suddenly freezes, and Obi-Wan stumbles at the sudden stop.

"Wait," Anakin says, and a far-away look appears in the man's eyes.

When Shaak Ti stretches out her senses, she can sense immense pain, suffering, and fear. She forces herself to keep looking at him, to keep herself from looking away.

"There was someone else," Anakin says, and it almost sounds as though he's talking to himself.

"Can you describe him?" Obi-Wan asks.

Anakin doesn't reply for a moment, and instead he keeps staring forward with the distant look in his eyes. Several seconds pass before he speaks.

"He wore a long cloak, and it was always pulled up. I never saw his face," Anakin says.

"So you don't know what he looks like?" Obi-Wan asks, and Anakin shakes his head.

"No, but. . .he felt familiar. Almost, like he was a friend," Anakin says, and he shivers before continuing, "but he was completely consumed with darkness. His power. . .it filled the room."

"A Sith Lord?" Shaak Ti asks, and her voice falls to a whisper. Anakin confirms her suspicions with a slight nod.

Shaak Ti's heart falls at this revelation. The council had entertained the possibility of the existence of another Sith Lord, but there had always been hope that this wasn't true.

_I suppose we have proof now_, Shaak Ti thinks to herself, _that is if the council will take Skywalker's word alone as proof._

"I believe he is the one we've been looking for," Anakin says.

"And you say he seemed familiar?" Obi-Wan asks. The man seems disturbed at the thought.

"Yes," Anakin says, and he seems sure on this point.

"Do you know if you'd be able to recognize his presence if you sensed it again?" Shaak Ti asks, and Anakin shakes his head.

"I don't know," Anakin says, "his signature was so wrapped in darkness I was unable to recognize who exactly it was. All I knew was that he was familiar, that I had met him before."

Silence falls, and the group begins to walk forwards again. Shaak Ti notices that Windu is giving them odd looks from his place at the head of the group, but the man himself does not join his fellow Jedi.

_It probably has something to do with his dislike and mistrust of Skywalker_, Shaak Ti thinks.

"We have learned much today," she says aloud, and Obi-Wan nods.

"We have many things to report to the rest of the council," he replies.

Quiet then falls as the group continues walking the remaining klicks to the ship.

**x X x**

The group reaches their ship safely, and they spot no signs of life.

In no time the ship has lifted off of the ground, and it has left the planet Belanor's atmosphere.

There are only three witnesses to this sight.

"Sir, the ship has left the atmosphere," one of the droids says to the flickering hologram.

"Good," the cloaked figure says, "and they have Skywalker with them?"

"Yes, sir," the droid says, "everything has gone according to plan."

"Excellent," the cloaked Sith says, "as the last part of you mission, destroy the base. Leave no trace of it's existence behind."

"Roger, roger," the droid replies, before turning the hologram off.

The droids move to obey their master's commands.

Soon, a large explosion rocks the planet's surface as the base is destroyed.

The ship carrying the Jedi is already in hyperspace, far away from the planet.

The danger has now begun.

**x X x**

**Okay, so thank you for reading! New chapter will probably be posted in a few days.**

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**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Enjoy!**

**x X x**

The ship comes out of hyperspace just outside of Corusant's atmosphere.

The ship's pilot maneuvers the craft through the crowed sky traffic until they reach the Jedi temple. There they land the vessel and everyone exits the ship.

It is here that the group parts ways. The clones go back to their guard stations, and the Jedi enter the temple.

Shaak Ti heads off to download the data on the card. She believes they need to study what this card holds as quickly as possible.

Windu is headed to give a brief report to the council. Later, of course the rest of the Jedi (especially Anakin) will have to give their own stories, but right now only a brief summary is required.

Anakin is being carted off to the infirmary by Obi-Wan, even though the younger man insists that he is fine.

Obi-Wan ignores all of the man's protests, and he ushers his friend to the healer's wing.

Everything seems as though it will go back to normal soon enough. Already the events of the past few days are fading away. If left untouched they would soon fall only to memory.

If only that were soon.

Already, a ripple of events has been set into motion. The tidal wave is only growing, and now it is only a question of how much damage will be left behind it its destructive wake.

For all the Jedi's foresight, they cannot see what is about to come.

**x X x**

"I am C2-80, at your service," the droid in charge of the data vaults says to Shaak Ti as the Jedi enters the room.

"I need all the information on this chip to be downloaded to the vaults," Shaak Ti says to the droid in front of her.

"I will plug it into the system," the droid replies.

Shaak Ti hands the card to the droid, and she follows it as C2-80 moves to plug it into the systems. Shaak Ti watches as the panel computes the data on the chip, and immediatly two words flash on the screen overhead.

CLOSED FILES

"The files are encrypted," C2-80 says, "do you have the entry code?"

"No," Shaak Ti replies, "I want you to decrypt the files."

"Of course," the droid says, and it moves to begin the process.

"How long do you think this will take?" Shaak Ti asks, and she already dreads the droid's answer.

"The files are heavily encrypted, and there are many walls in place to protect the data," the droid says, "at this speed it will take anywhere from three to five days."

Shaak Ti sighs upon hearing this, and she rubs her temples with her hands.

"We need that data as soon as possible," Shaak Ti says, as though this statement will help anything.

"Of course," the droid replies, "I will work as fast as the system allows. You will be alerted when the process is complete."

Shaak Ti knows that she can do nothing else now but wait, even though she wishes there was something she could do.

With another sigh she exits the data vaults, and she heads towards the council chambers.

She has a report of the events she witnessed to give to the council.

Shaak Ti dreads entering the room, as she knows Mace Windu has already given his side of the story.

After seeing what she saw down in those tunnels. . .

Shaak Ti doesn't know what to think.

_Maybe those files will shed some light on all of this_, she thinks to herself, _at least I hope they do._

**x X x**

"Disturbing, this is," Yoda says when Windu has finished his report.

Windu is about to reply when the doors to the council room open to admit Shaak Ti.

A nod from Yoda tells her to move to the center of the room. She walks to stand beside Windu.

Instinctively, Shaak Ti strengthens her mental shields. She knows that the other masters in the room will be watching her carefully, and she doesn't want her emotions to betray anything.

She tucks her emotions away, hoping that this will help with the confusion she's feeling.

It doesn't.

"Agree with Master Windu on his report, do you?" Yoda asks the togruta, and his face reveals no insight to his feelings on the matter.

"That all depends on the point," Shaak Ti replies, and she makes sure to keep her voice and tone devoid of feeling.

"Master Windu says that Anakin used the dark side of the force," Ki Adi Mundi says, "that he used it to kill twenty humans."

A murmur runs trough the chamber at this, and Shaak Ti steels herself for their reactions. She takes a calming breath before speaking.

"I believe the situation must be called into account," she replies, and this earns a thoughtful look from Yoda. On the other hand, she senses dissatisfaction from Windu.

"Your meaning, please explain," the old master says, and he waves his hand for her to continue.

"When we found Skywalker he was very weak and had obviously been through. . .some very intense mental and physical torture. The man was barely able to form complete thoughts," she says.

"So unable to control his actions, he might have been," Yoda says, and Shaak Ti bows her head.

"That is exactly what I believe happened, master," she says, "the way he described it, he didn't even mean to harm them. He just wanted them to stop. . .whatever they were doing."

"So his actions were in self defense?" Ki Adi Mundi says, and Shaak Ti nods once more. It is here that Windu cuts in.

"Whether he was in his right mind or not, the matter of him calling upon the dark side cannot be overlooked," Windu says.

Once more murmurs roll through the council room. Shaak Ti can catch snippets of the conversations.

"_He never should have been allowed to train."_

_"I always knew he was dangerous."_

_"Maybe his expulsion would be for the best."_

Shaak Ti quickly steps forward, and her voice rings through the council room.

"Can we at least hear his and Obi-Wan's reports before we condemn the man?" Shaak Ti says, and this brings an end to the whispers.

"Agree on this, I do," Yoda says, and his face remains just as impassive as it has throughout the meeting, "talk more on this matter, we will. A decision we will make after hearing Skywalker and Kenobi's reports."

With that the council disbands, and the members slowly file out until only Shaak Ti and Yoda are left.

"Something troubles you?" Master Yoda asks, immediately picking up on her emotions despite the mental shields she has thrown up.

"Yes, master," Shaak Ti replies, "I just. . .don't know why to think on all of this. The force is so clouded right now."

"Yes, surrounded by the dark side, we are," Yoda says gravely, "blinded to what is coming, the Jedi are."

"Maybe the files we have will shed some light on what is happening," Shaak To says, and her voice has a trace of hope in it.

"Maybe," Yoda replies, and his voice betrays neither hope not disbelief.

Together the two sit, watching the scene outside their window. Both are deep in thought.

Neither know what is to come.

**x X x**

"Anakin, hold still," Obi-Wan says as he and the Jedi healer beside him observe the X-ray.

"Sorry, master," Anakin replies in a voice that holds no trace of apology.

He does stop fidgeting though, and this allows the two Jedi to observe the machine's results.

"I do not see any breaks or fractures," the healer, a blue skinned twi-lek by the name of Vokara Che, says as she observes the screen.

"Why does it hurt then?" Anakin asks, and the image blurs as he shifts one more.

"Probably just bruising, and some serious bruises at that," the healer says as she flicks the machine off, "what exactly happened?"

At this Anakin shifts once more, and he hesitates before speaking.

"I don't remember," he says.

Obi-Wan and Vokara share a glance. Both of them can sense the untruth there, but neither are willing to call him out on it.

"Well then," the healer says as she walks over to her patient, "I suppose I will keep you here overnight for observation until the other test results come back."

The twi-lek walks towards the door, but she stops just before exiting. She then turns, and her icy-blue gaze is stern as she looks at Skywalker.

"I expect you to rest," Vokara says, and her voice leaves no room for debate, "even if there are no permanent injuries your body and mind have been through quite an ordeal. Sleep is what you need to heal."

Vokara pauses in her words, and if possible the healer's gaze becomes almost threatening.

"I better not find you out of this room, Skywalker," she says in parting, before disappearing down the hall to check on her other patients.

Anakin winces at her tone, and he waits until the healer is far down the hall before he speaks.

"I thought Jedi weren't supposed to be violent," Anakin says with a shiver, "Master Che can be pretty scary."

Obi-Wan laughs at his friend's statement, and he comes to sit in the chair beside his bed.

"That's what makes her such a good healer. Her patients don't dare disobey her," Obi-Wan says.

"I'm afraid of what happens if they do," Anakin replies.

Obi-Wan is just about to speak when a familar presence rushes into the room. A small being runs across the floor of the room before it reaches Anakin's bed.

It is there that the young togruta throws herself forward, and she wraps her arms around her master.

Anakin winces at the sudden weight on his chest, and he carefully extracts his padawan from on top of him.

"Sorry master!" Ahsoka exclaims as she notices the look of pain on his face, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Snips," Anakin says when he can finally speak through the pain.

It is then that the girl turns to face Obi-Wan, and her hands fall to her hips. A stern expression appears on her face.

"Why wasn't I told that you had returned? I had to hear the news from two gossiping younglings in the cafeteria!" Ahsoka exclaims.

"Calm down, young one," Obi-Wan says. He doesn't want her disturb the resting patients in the wing, "I apologize you were not told of your master's return sooner."

Ahsoka accepts this apology, and she turns away from the man. The young girl pushes herself up to sit on Anakin's bed.

"What happened, master?" Ahsoka asks, and her curious eyes blaze with an endless flow questions.

Anakin turns his gaze away from hers, and he instead focuses on the tiles that make up the ceiling.

It actually makes his head pound to think about answering the flow of questions that is sure to come from his padawan.

"I dont really want to talk about it, Ahsoka," Anakin says, and his voice betrays his weariness.

Ahsoka seems ready to protest on the matter, but Obi-Wan quickly cuts in before the padawan can speak.

"Anakin needs to rest, Ahsoka," Obi-Wan says, "you can pester him with all of your questions after he's had some time to sleep."

Ahsoka's face falls, and the young padawan pushes herself up off of the bed. She slowly makes her way towards the door, and here she turns to give her master one last parting look.

"I'm glad you're safe, master," Ahsoka says before she disappears down the hall.

"Thanks," Anakin says, and he relaxes when her presence is further away, "I'm glad to see her, it's just. . ."

"You're not ready to talk about it," Obi-Wan says, and Anakin nods.

"I don't even want to think about it," Anakin says.

"You know the council is going to need a report," Obi-Wan says, and Anakin nods.

"Yeah," he replies.

Anakin rests his head back agains the pillow, and he stares at the ceiling above.

"I suppose you're going to stay here to make sure I don't leave?" Anakin asks, and his old mentor nods.

"You need to rest Anakin," Obi-Wan says.

Anakin rolls his eyes, but he does obey.

_Not because they told me too_, Anakin thinks to himself, _but because I actually am tired._

Anakin closes his eyes, and his exhaustion flows over him. Almost immediately, he drifts off to sleep.

His mind begins to shut down, and his thoughts float away. The barriers he has kept up for the past week come crashing down as his mind shuts off.

It is when his mind is in this state, vulnerable and weak, that something attacks.

Something has been waiting for him to let his guard down, and now it launches at him in full force.

As Anakin drifts off to sleep, the darkness pounces. It grabs hold of him, and it refuses to let go.

**x X x**

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**I know everything might be kinda confusing right now, but light will be shed soon!**

**Just know that things are about to get pretty bad.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

As Anakin awakens, he feels the darkness slowly spread throughout his body. It overpowers his senses, and it blurs out every thought the Jedi have ever implanted in his mind.

It feels so _right._

Anakin opens his eyes, and through the sudden rush of darkness it takes him a moment to remember where he is.

_The Jedi temple._

_Perfect, _Anakin thinks to himself, w_here else to strike them than at the heart._

Anakin's hand falls to his waist, where his lightsaber should be. His fingers meet empty air, and he glances down at the space.

Gone.

_Obi-Wan must have taken it, A_nakin thinks, and a flash of anger rushes through him.

Anakin pushes himself out of the bed, and he slips his boots on quickly. His thoughts run through his mind in a blur. Somehow he knows exactly what he must do.

First thing he has to escape the healer's wing without being noticed. Anakin scans the area outside his room carefully before venturing outside.

When he is out of the wing he needs to find a weapon. Anakin runs places where he can find a lightsaber through his mind.

_There might be a spare one in the training room. . .they keep some there for practice. . ._

After Anakin finds a weapon the Sith will finally have their revenge.

Anakin is too caught up in these thoughts to notice the foreign feeling associated with them. He ignores the forced quality they have, as though they are being pushed into his mind, and he instead embraces them wholeheartedly.

Every time Anakin's subconscious mind questions his actions, a quick burst of pain strikes him. Soon he stops trying, and he instead accepts what the voice tells him.

It is much easier to live in the dark than to fight a way back into the light.

**x X x**

Ahsoka steps out of her room, and she begins to walk down the hall that leads to the healer's wing. The young padawan is in a rush to check on her master.

She obeyed Obi-Wan, and she left her master alone so he could rest even though she really, really wanted to go see him.

Ahsoka figures that he's had enough rest time now. In fact, he's probably getting pretty bored sitting in that room alone.

He needs her company.

Ahsoka rounds a corner, and she is so caught up in her thoughts that she doesn't notice the other person rounding the sharp turn until it is too late.

The said person was also too caught up in their own thoughts to notice the other presence until it is too late.

The two run straight into each other, and Ahsoka falls back to the ground. The other person only stumbles slightly before regaining his footing.

"I'm so sorry, Ahsoka," a familiar voice says, and the padawan looks up to see Obi-Wan standing above her, "it appears that we were both distracted."

"I apologize master," Ahsoka says, "I was just on my way to check on Anakin."

"I was headed that way as well," Obi-Wan says, and he gestures for the young girl to walk with him.

The walk in silence for a few moments through the long hallways of the temple before Obi-Wan speaks.

"Ahsoka, I want to warn you beforehand," the older Jedi says slowly, "Anakin has been through quite the ordeal. . . and he might not want to talk about it for awhile."

Ahsoka struggles not to argue with the Jedi. She has so many things she wants to ask her master, and all start with the most important.

_What happened?_

"Of course, Master Obi-Wan," Ahsoka says, and she bows her head slightly.

The more she thinks about it, the more wisdoms she finds in the older masters words.

Ahsoka has come quite a way from the reckless young padawan he was only a few years ago.

"Then let's go check on him," Obi-Wan says, and together the two make their way towards the wing.

**x X x**

Anakin manages to slide past the healers and guards stationed in the wing with great ease. Soon enough he is walking down the hall.

_I need to find a weapon,_ Anakin thinks to himself. The thought echoes in his mind, overshadowing very thing else.

What comes after that doesn't matter.

Anakin leaves the more crowded hallways of the temple for the lesser used ones. He can get to places faster this way, and he is less likely to be spotted.

Something tells him that he doesn't want to get caught, as that extreme caution should be used.

Just as Anakin is running through different plans for acquiring a weapon, a presence at the end of the hall registers.

Anakin looks up to see who else is walking down the previously empty corridor, and his gaze falls on a young padawan learner.

It's a small Rodian girl with light green skin. She is of youngling age, and her large black eyes gaze curiously at the hall around her.

The child probably got separated from a group of other younglings. If anything, Anakin should help the child back to her class.

But all Anakin's eyes can see is the lightsaber strapped to the small rodian's waist.

It's only a learner blade, but in Anakin's mind it is better than nothing.

As Anakin and the youngling draw nearer to each other in their walk down the hall a plan immediately forms in his mind.

Taking out the padawan will be no problem. The only challenge will be hiding her body.

Of course, he can worry about that later.

Anakin lifts a hand up, and he pulls the force to him. The small child looks up just as he is about to perform a force-choke.

She seems to realize that something is terribly wrong, and fear alights in her large eyes.

"Skywalker!"

A voice breaks Anakin's concentration, and he turns to find the source of the noise.

In this moment the youngling passes by Anakin, and she continues down the hallway unharmed. The small child moves quickly to escape the unarmed threat that she can only sense, and in a moment she has disappeared.

Anakin is too focused on the imposing figure making his way down the hallway to care about the child's retreating presence.

"What are you doing?" Mace Windu asks, and his voice is sharp.

In that moment, whatever hold the darkness has on Anakin shatters.

To Anakin it feels as though he is waking from a trance. He blinks wildly at his surroundings.

"Wait. . .where am I?" Anakin asks, and his voice sounds dazed as he observes the corridor he's standing in, "how did I get here?"

"You tell me," Windu says when he finally reaches the younger man, "what are you doing out of the healer's wing?"

Anakin is still looking around in a confused manner, and he doesn't seem to hear the man's words.

"Did you bring me here?" Anakin asks Windu, "how did I get here?"

If it weren't for the pure confusion pouring off of the man, Windu would have never believed him.

"Are you alright, Skywalker?" Windu asks, and a tone close to concern lights his voice.

"I. . .I'm not sure," Anakin says, and when he turns to face the older master Windu sees only confusion.

With a sigh Windu takes the younger Jedi by the arm.

"Let's get you back to the healer wing," Windu says, "I want to get you checked out again."

Anakin is too dazed to even protest, and this is something Windu finds even more odd.

_I have a bad feeling about this_, Windu thinks to himself as he leads Anakin away.

**x X x**

Healer Vokara Che leads Ahsoka and Obi-Wan down the hall to Anakin's room.

"You can only stay a few minutes," Vokara says as they near the room, "I am about to run my final tests on him."

"Then he will be released?" Ahsoka asks, and she looks up towards the blue-skinned twi-lek leading them down the corridor.

"If everything shows up fine, then yes," Vokara says, and her voice shows that she is optimistic, "and I believe that the results will be good."

"He'll like leaving the wing," Ahsoka says to Obi-Wan, and the man nods.

"Yes he will," Obi-Wan replies to the young padawan.

They both know Anakin's disdain for the healers wing. The young Jedi associates it with absolute boredom.

"Here we are," Master Che says, and she walks through on of the doorways.

The healer has only taken one step into the room when she freezes. A sudden wave of surprise rolls off of her.

Obi-Wan and Ahsoka step forward to see what has made her stop.

As they walk into the doorway, their gazes sweep through the room.

The empty room.

"Where is he?" Ahsoka asks, and Vokara shakes her head.

"I have no idea," she says, and concern laces her voice, "he was here only a few moments ago. . . we must find him."

The three Jedi hurry out of the healer's wing, and they have only taken a few steps down the corridor when they run straight into Mace Windu.

The Jedi is currently leading Anakin in the direction of the healers wing.

"Thank you Master Windu," Vokara says, and the healer steps forward to reprimand Anakin for leaving the wing.

Windu hurriedly steps forward to stop her.

"Before you scold Skywalker for leaving, you might want to check him out again," the Jedi mater says. Obi-Wan frowns at this.

"What do you mean?" Vokara asks, and confusion flickers across her face.

In answer Windu turns to Anakin.

"Why don't you tell them what you were doing when I found you?" Windu asks.

All gazes turn to Anakin.

The young Jedi isn't even paying attention to the conversation. Anakin's gaze is distant as he stares out into empty space.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan says, and his former-padawan turns to face him slowly.

For a split second, a look that can only be described as anger flashes across the man's face. It is gone in an instant, and Obi-Wan is left thinking he imagined it.

Confusion appears suddenly on the young man's face.

"What?" Anakin asks, and his gaze slowly trails around his surroundings.

As though he'd forgotten why he was here.

Windu repeats his question, and it takes a moment for Anakin to answer.

"I. . .I don't understand," he says slowly, "where am I? Weren't we just in a different hallway? How did we get here?"

Windu turns to face the concerned gazes of the other Jedi.

"He's been like this ever since I found him in one of the back hallways," Windu says.

Once more Anakin's gaze has trailed off into the distance.

"It's like he'll go into some sort of trance," Windu says a he struggles to explain what he witnessed, "and when I call after him he'll snap out of it. Just like - Anakin!"

Windu cuts off his explanation to call after Anakin. The man has begun to walk down the hall, and a look of purpose has appeared on his face.

When he hears his named called, the man turns back.

Again, for only a moment, Obi-Wan sees that look of anger flash across the man's face.

In a second it is replaced with confusion.

Anakin turns slowly, and he looks at his surroundings. His eyes follow the path he has walked, and the watching Jedi can see his confusion clearly.

"I see what you mean," Vokara murmurs, "I will put him under more tests immediately. There might be more mental damage than we realize."

Obi-Wan and Windu lead a confused Anakin back to his room in the healer's wing.

When they leave they place two guards outside to make sure the Jedi doesn't wander off once more.

_I have a bad feeling about this_, Obi-Wan thinks to himself, _I don't like this at all._


	7. Chapter 7

**Enjoy!**

**. x • X • x .**

"All his results show that everything is perfectly fine," Vokara says as she observes the data pad in her hand.

Windu shakes his head slowly in disbelief. Vokara hands him the data pad to look for himself.

"Something here isn't right," he says as he looks over the results.

_Something doesn't feel right. . ._

"His physical health is fine, but as for his mental health I can only see so much," the healer says, "there may be problems lying below the surface that are hidden from us now."

Windu is silent for a moment. His worry shows on his face, which is odd considering the man's usually stuff control.

"You're releasing him today then?" Windu asks, and Vokara nods.

"I see no reason why we should keep him locked in here," she says, "ever the episode the other day he seems fine."

Since Anakin's wanderings through the Jedi temple, the man seems much better. After he a bit of rest it seems as though he is back to normal.

The situation was ruled as a slight mental lapse. All the confusion from the past week must have been building up, and eventually the pressure became too much.

That's the only explanation they can come up with that is semi-plausible.

Windu nods his head slowly, and Vokara waits patiently for his reply.

"We must keep a careful eye on him," Windu says finally, "he should not be alone for even a moment."

"That does sound best," the healer agrees.

"I wish to discuss these things with Mater Yoda and some of the other council members. Go ahead and release Skywalker, but send someone to look after him," Windu says, and Vokara nods.

"I hope we are not making a mistake," she says softly, and her voice is so quiet that Windu almost doesn't hear her words.

_I hope we are not either,_ he thinks to himself.

**. x • X • x .**

Ahsoka walks beside her master, and she struggles to match her pace with his long strides.

"Where are we going?" she asks, and her master turns to look down at her. A small smile tugs at his lips, and Ahsoka feels a rush of relief.

This small act of warmth is one of the first signs of familiarity she has seen from her master since he's returned.

Since his return he's been cold. . .and distant.

_He has been through a lot, _Ahsoka tells herself, _I only wish he would talk to me about it. I can help._

"Ithought we could go to the practice rooms and spar for a bit. I've been locked in that room for so long I need to do something," Anakin says. Ahsoka immediately brightens.

"Maybe I'll finally beat you, master," Ahsoka says, "I've been working on some new moves. . ."

"Don't get ahead of yourself my young padawan," Anakin says, "you've got a ways to go before you can beat me."

Ahsoka grins, and as they make their way to the practice room the pair falls into an easy pattern of joking conversation.

_Just like always, _Ahsoka thinks to herself. She takes relief from this old routine.

It helps to wash away some of the fear that's been gnawing at her insides ever since her master disappeared. She thought that when he returned safely that these feelings would go away.

If anything they have only grown stronger.

**. x • X • x .**

Padmé Amidala is slowly walking down the senate building corridor.

The meeting concerning Republic budget and spending just adjorned, and currently the young senator is making her way back to the speeder that will take her home.

It is not thoughts of the meeting and it's horrible ending that plague the young woman. No, thoughts of another rein her mind.

Thoughts of her husband.

A few people casually greet the senator as she walks past, but she barely hears their words. Distantly she hears hears her own voice exchanging simple pleasantries.

_Where is Anakin?_

A little over a week ago word reached her that he had disappeared while on his last mission. By the time she received the news he had already been missing for several days.

Her heart was frozen in fear when she heard the news.

Dormé, her handmaiden, struggled to make her mistress eat and drink. Sleeping was near impossible for the senator.

Something dark lurked in her dreams.

Padmé didn't know why she reacted this way. Somehow, she just had a feeling. . .something was terribly wrong. An overwhelming sense of fear rocked through her every moment that Anakin was still missing.

When news reached her that he had returned safely to Coruscant. . .the fear didn't leave.

Padmé quickly realized that her fears would not disappear until she saw her husband alive and in flesh.

So she waited for him to come see her, and she waited a day or two before the worry set in.

She knows that the Jedi would want to check him for injuries, and they would probably want a full report on what happened.

But now, he still hasn't come. She has heard not a single word from him. He hasn't even snuck in a quick message via comm-link. . .

This only causes her worry to grow.

_Why hasn't he contacted me? I need to know that he's okay._

_Maybe there's someone I can ask. . .someone who I can trust. . ._

Padmé has almost reached the doors to the senate building when she sees a familiar face in the crowd.

The young senator hurries to catch the man before he leaves her sight. Hope alight inside of her.

"Obi-Wan!" She calls, and the Jedi turns at the sound of her voice. He smiles slightly as he sees her making her way trough the crowd, and he hurries to meet her.

"Senator Amidala," Obi-Wan says, and he bows slightly.

"Oh, please none of that," Padmé says quickly, and she waves her hand, "I just saw you, and I wanted to ask you a quick question."

Obi-Wan observes her carefully before speaking, and Padmé suddenly feels a rush of self consciousness.

She struggles to keep her face an emotionless mask, but she knows that the Jedi can sense the waves of worry pouring off of her.

"What is it, Padmé?" the Jedi asks, and his face shows concern.

"I was just wondering how Anakin was," she says, and her words come out in a rush, "I heard that he had returned, but there was no news beside that."

Obi-Wan nods slightly. Padmé is unable to read his emotions.

"He is fine, if only a bit bruised," Obi-Wan says, "he's been in the healer's wing for he past few days, but. . ."

The Jedi trails off, and Padmé can tell that he isn't telling her everything. There's something he doesn't want to tell her.

"What is it, Obi-Wan?" she asks, and the Jedi shakes his head slowly.

"He seems fine, but something is wrong," Obi-Wan says, and his voice is soft, "something happened to him, but we have no idea what. He isn't exactly forthcoming with details about his. . .imprisonment."

Padmé nods slowly, and she tries to hide her fear at his words. She knows what usually comes with imprisonment.

_Torture._

"When will he be released from the healers wing?" Padmé asks, and she tries to hide the desperation she is feeling inside.

If Obi-Wan senses any of what Padmé is feeling inside, he shows no sign of it.

"Today actually," Obi-Wan says.

Padmé is just about to ask another question when the comm-link at Obi-Wan's wrist goes off. He looks at her apologetically.

"Sorry, but it appears I am needed elsewhere. It was nice to see you again, senator. I will be sure to tell Anakin that you asked after him," he says.

The two exchange goodbyes before they part ways. Padmé slowly walks towards the exit.

Hope has arisen inside her.

_I'm sure he'll come see me tonight_, Padmé assures himself, _he couldn't possibly come before when he was locked in the infirmary._

Small seeds of doubt creep their way into her mind, but she hastily pushes them away.

_Anakin will come._

It has been nearly six months since she has last seen her husband. After he was pushed for he war front it was mission following mission.

_It appears that only extreme injury and torture are reasons to be fought back, _Padmé muses grimly. She only wants for the war to end.

Especially now. With what she learned soon after Anakin left all those months ago. . .

Padmé carefully wraps her large cloak tighter around her, and she self-consciously checks to make sure that it conceals the evergrowing bump on her stomach.

_Anakin and I have much to talk about, _Padmé thinks to herself as she lays a hand on her stomach. She can feel the life from the child inside.

_Much to talk about indeed._

**. x • X • x .**

"How much longer until the files will be readable?" Shaak Ti asks, "the program has been running for three days already."

The droid turns to look at the Jedi, and Shaak Ti struggles to remain patient.

"It is estimated that the files will be ready some time to tommorrow," C2-80 says in reply.

"There is no way to speed up the process?" Shaak Ti asks.

"The system is already working at maximum capacity," C2-80 replies.

Shaak Ti raises a hand to her head, and she slowly walks over to one of the available chairs.

_We needed those files yesterday_, Shaak Ti thinks to herself.

She struggles to rein in the flow of emotions that run through her. Ever since they had left the base on Belanor, a sense of foreboding had fallen upon her.

Something is coming.

After hearing about the incident with Skywalker yesterday Shaak Ti's anxiousness to discover what lay in the files doubled.

_We need to know what was done to him_, she thinks to herself.

But at the same time, she knows that some thinks are best left undiscovered.

As much as she wants to leans what lies in these files, she fears what will be brought into the light.

Some truths should stay hidden in the dark. There are some truths that cause only pain and suffering when pulled to the surface.

Horrible things happen when some things are brought to light.

**. x • X • x .**

"Areyou ready?" Anakin asks as he and his padawan move to an empty area in the training room.

A few other pairs spar around them, and a class of younglings stands in the corner. An older Jedi master teaches the initiates the basics in lightsaber safety.

"I'm ready to win," Ahsoka says, and her confidence runs through her.

"You're getting ahead of yourself, padawan," Anakin says, and with that he attacks.

Ahsoka is unprepared for the sudden movement, and she dances back before bringing both of her blades up to block his. She stumbles slightly before regaining her footing.

"Ahsoka, I thought you were ready," Anakin says, and a smirk plays at his lips.

Ahsoka pushes her twin blades forward, and this forces Anakin back. She takes a swipe towards his head, which he blocks.

"I am ready, master," Ahsoka says, and her tone is full of determination.

With that their conversation stops. The pair falls into an easy rhythm of strike and block. Parry and thrust.

This lasts several minutes, and it doesn't take long before Ahsoka realizes that her master is not giving the fight his all. While she is breathing heavily from the physical exertion he hasn't even broken a sweat.

"I thought I told you to stop going easy on me master," Ahsoka says, and she slashes her blade towards his exposed side. Of course he brings his lightsaber to book it in a flash.

"This is training, Ahsoka," Anakin says in reply, and he steps back slightly. For a moment they both stand there, their blades poised and ready.

"For once can you please not go easy on me?" Ahsoka says, "I'll never get better unless you push me hard."

Anakin sighs, and he runs a hand through his hair before turning back to face her.

"Are you sure?" Anakin asks, and his voice reveals his own uncertainty.

"Positive," Ahsoka replies, and she braces herself, lifting her twin blades into the air, "give me your best."

Anakin lifts up his own glowing blue lightsaber, and he twirls it loosely in his hand.

A look of sudden determination flashes on Anakin's face, and an almost distant look appears in his eyes.

Ahsoka shivers slightly, and she pushes away the forbidding sense of danger that suddenly arises within her.

_This is my master. . .he would never hurt me_, she thinks, and she chides herself for thinking otherwise.

"Alright then," Anakin says, and his voice is devoid of any emotion. It sounds almost. . .mechanical.

Anakin suddenly slashes foward, and Ahsoka barely brings her blades up in time to block the strike.

The force behind Anakin's blade pushes against both of Ahsoka's, and slowly her blades begin to move back.

Ahsoka pushes up as hard as she can, but she is only able to gain a few inches. She grits her teeth in determination as Anakins blade forces hers down.

Ahsoka steels herself, and she draws all of the power she can forward. With a sudden move she thrusts her blades upwards, and she manages to push Anakin back about a foot.

She quickly spins away, and she brings her blades up just in time to block his next advance. Once more she is forced downward.

_I am no match for him_, Ahsoka thinks. The thought crosses her mind just a few moments too late.

_Curse my big mouth, _the young padawan thinks, _and my pride as well_.

Ahsoka tries to push her master back like she had before, but he is already anticipating this move.

He suddenly lashes his foot foward, and he sweeps her feet out from under her. She falls roughly to the ground.

Ahsoka's blades are jerked from her hands, and her body strikes the ground hard. From the fore of her impact the breath is temporarily snatched from her lungs.

It takes her several seconds to reorientate herself to her surroundings, and when she does so she senses a presence hovering just above her.

Ahsoka's gaze trails slowly upwards.

Her master stands over her fallen form. He has abandoned his own blade for the two he took from her.

Currently those are crossed, and hovering just above her throat.

Ahsoka shivers slightly, and she feels a sudden flash of fear. She struggles to shake it away.

She laughs lightly, and the sound is shaky even to her own ears.

"Good job, master, from now on let's stick with going easy on me," she says, and she struggles to force a smile.

Anakin doesn't answer her.

Ahsoka feels another rush of fear, and she slowly turns her gaze towards her master's.

Her eyes meet that of a stranger's.

Anakin is staring down at her. His eyes are cold, and his face is set with determination. As Ahsoka watches the lightsabers he holds slowly dip lower, towards her exposed neck.

"Master? . . ." Ahsoka says, her voice is barely a whisper. Her voice chokes before he can says anything else.

A long moment passes, in which the lightsabers slowly dip a little bit lower. Ahsoka feels nothing but fear for the man in front of her.

Then the moment passes.

Anakin shakes his head slightly, and a look of confusion crosses his face. He glances at his surroundings, much like he had in the hallway the other day.

With a flash the two lightsabers are deactivated.

Anakin reaches out a hand, and he helps his padawan to her feet. He then hands her the twin blades, which she clips to her belt.

"Well done," Anakin says, but his voice sounds distant and confused. He doesn't meet her gaze. Instead his eyes search their surroundings.

"Master. . ." Ahsoka says, and her voice is weak.

Anakin doesn't seem to hear her. His eyes still observe their surroundings intensely. A few moments pass in silence.

Then, her master leaves.

Ahsoka is left standing there. The other sparring pairs continue on with their sessions, and they are oblivious as to what just transpired.

Ahsoka shivers slightly, and she wraps her arms around herself as though that will help fight this sudden chill she feels.

_What just happened? A_hsoka asks herself.

Logic tries to push its way into her mind, and it says that she imagined everything. That the cold eyes of the stranger were just a truck of light.

Ahsoka truly tries to convince herself of this theory.

But still the doubts remain.

**. x • X • x .**

**Ok, please review!**

**Things look pretty bad, huh**

**Don't worry, they get worse!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, so I actually had this entire chapter typed up, proof-read, and ready to go. . . Then it got deleted.**

**I did rewrite the entire thing, but this time I couldn't will myself to proofread it.**

**Sorry.**

**Please ignore any mistakes!**

**Enjoy!**

**. x • X • x .**

Anakin's mind is quickly falling into chaos.

His waking moments are filled with blanks and spaces. Darkness clouds the spaces in between.

_What is happening to me? _Anakin thinks to himself.

The darkness attacks him with unending strength. Anakin quickly learns that resistance causes only pain and suffering.

The blank spots in his memory grow more common.

Sometimes he doesn't even know who he is anymore. The man in the mirror is a stranger, one who just happens to wear his face.

His dreams are filled with the hum of a lightsaber as he cuts through his victims.

_Men. Women. Children._

A harsh smile marks his face as he cuts them down.

Anakin's mind is plagued with darkness. It haunts him with every breath he takes.

It suffocates the light left within.

_What is happening to me_? Anakin's mind screams.

He doesn't get an answer.

**. x • X • x .**

"Worried about Skywalker, you are."

Obi-Wan's eyes flash open as he pulls out of the troubled meditation he had been practicing. His thoughts of Anakin had kept him from finding the calming peace he loves.

"Yes, master," Obi-Wan says, and he bows his head to the older master.

The two sit cross-legged in one of the private mediation chambers located in the temple.

"Clouded, young Skywalker has become," Yoda says slowly, "inside him, a battle rages. Darkness is winning."

Obi-Wan's eyes shoot up, and concern races through him for his friend.

_I thought he was just confused and troubled after his imprisonment_. . . Obi -Wan thinks to himself.

"We must help him," Obi-Wan says, "we must pull him back to the light."

"Yes," Yoda says, "talk to him, you must."

Obi-Wan quickly stands, and he bows to the master before making his way to the door. Yoda calls back to him just before he exits.

"Careful you must be, Obi-Wan," Yoda warns carefully, "a deep hold on Skywalker the dark side may already have."

Obi-Wan nods in understanding before leaving the meditation room.

_Hold on, Anakin, _Obi-Wan thinks. He cast his feelings through the force to his friend, and he is met with a wall of darkness.

_Hold on._

**. x • X • x .**

_A war rages on inside of Anakin's head._

_The dark ferociously attacks the light. it does not hesitate, and it's strength comes in never ending waves._

_The light is losing strength. It is fading, dying. Soon it will be gone._

_Then only the darkness will remain._

_Power. Hate. Fury. Fear. Suffering. Anger. Jealousy. Envy. Pain._

_Only darkness will be left. The light will die, it will be washed away._

Anakin rests his forehead against the cool surface of the stone column. His flesh arm rest above his head, and it shields his eyes from the harsh light.

_Give in to the dark side._

Anakin shudders as the voice twirls its way through his mind. It whispers dark things into his subconscious.

A chill runs up his spine as the darkness swirls around him.

Distantly, Anakin feels a slight tug on the hem of his robe. The voice of a youngling calls through the darkness, and it's tone is one of concern.

_"Master Skywalker? Are you alright?"_

The darkness swirls around Anakin. It is preparing to strike the final blow. The light will fall.

Anakin finds himself unable to do anything.

Vaguely, distantly, two familiar presences reach Anakin's mind. They are rushing. . .hurrying somewhere.

Anakin is too distracted to worry about these figures. Instead his attention is turned to the darkness as it coils around itself.

Anakin shudders as the power rises, as the light blinks faintly.

The darkness strikes.

The light dies.

Anakin feels a sudden rush of power as emotions flood through him. But more important than his newfound strength. . .

Freedom.

Anakin has never felt so right, so free.

How could he have been so stupid as to fight it for so long?

_"Master, do you need a healer?"_

Anakin shudders as the annoying, young voice breaks through his elation.

He wants to silence the annoying voice.

Slowly Anakin turns to face the youngling.

With a gasp the child stumbles back, and fear washes over his features. The boy's large black eyes widen, and his blue skin pales.

Anakin can't think clearly enough to identify the child's species. Honestly he doesn't care enough to try. All that matters is one thing.

The child is a Jedi, and all Jedi must die.

"_For then we will have revenge_," Anakin mutters aloud, and the boy starts at his words.

"Master, are - are you okay?" the small child stutters, "your eyes-."

The youngling's words quickly erupt into choked gasps.

Anakin raises his hand higher, and the child raises into the air. He tightens his fingers slightly, and the child's gasps become more frantic.

"Master, no!"

"Put him down, Anakin!"

In answer Anakin's hand cups tighter, and the child's face quickly begins to turn red from the loss of oxygen.

A harsh smile carves it's way upon Anakin's lips.

He revels in the child's fear.

And he will revel in his death.

**. x • X • x .**

_**{a few moments earlier}**_

Obi-Wan walks briskly down the hall. All his attention is focused on Anakin's presence, which he senses somewhere up ahead.

A sense of urgency has overtaken Obi-Wan. With every passing second he feels the force screaming at him that he must _hurry._

_He must get there before it is too late._

Obi-Wan is so focused on his task that he doesn't even realize another presence has fallen instep beside him until said person speaks.

"Obi-Wan, something is wrong with Anakin."

Obi-Wan does not slow his quick pace, but he does turn his head slightly to acknowledge the girl.

"I know," Obi-Wan says, "that's why I'm going to talk to him."

"I'm coming too," Ahsoka says, and her voice rings with determination.

Obi-Wan quickly shakes his head.

He is just preparing himself to explain to the girl why he should do this alone, when the force explodes.

Darkness falls like a shroud, and it rings out in waves.

Stretching his senses forward, Obi-Wan can quickly find the source.

_Anakin._

Not a single moment is wasted as the two Jedi immediately spring forward. They race through the halls to the darkness and its source.

They both charge around the final corner, but immediately come to a stop at the scene lying before them.

_No_ . . .Is the only thought Obi-Wan's mind can form.

Anakin's back is turned to them, and his arm is stretches out in front of him.

Hovering in the air above his friend is a youngling. The child's face quickly floods with red as the oxygen leaves his body.

"Master, no!"

"Put him down, Anakin!"

Both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka cry out at once, but Anakin ignores their calls.

The child's gasps become more desperate as he struggles to breath.

Obi-Wan draws the force to him quickly, and he thrusts his ha forward.

Anakin flies back to hit one of the columns, and the child falls to the ground.

Obi-Wan and Ahsoka cover the ground between them and the fallen youngling in moments, and they both hurriedly kneel at his side.

Obi-Wan feels a sudden rush of relief when the child's harsh breaths punctuate the air.

The command to take the child to the healer's wing is just about to pass Obi-Wan's lips when a harsh growl erupts from behind them.

Obi-Wan's eyes flash to Ahsoka's and he sees the fear that is evident there.

Slowly they both turn.

Anakin is kneeled, and his head is bowed. Waves of fury roll off of him, and these waves hit the Jedi like slaps.

"Anakin. . ." Obi-Wan says. This is the only word he can manage.

With a hiss, Anakin activates his lightsaber. The blue blade casts harsh shadows on the planes of his face.

Anakin raises his head slowly, and the two Jedi's gazes are caught in his once blue eyes.

Now they burn with fire and hatred. They blaze a feverish gold.

_The color of a Sith._

With a snarl Anakin slowly stands. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka rise with him.

Dread takes place in Obi-Wan's heart, and his entire body fills with icy numbness.

Everything breaks with Anakin's next words.

"Prepare to die, Jedi."

**. x • X • x .**

**(A few minutes earlier, but far too late)**

"Files decrypted. Data now available for observation."

"Show data," Shaak Ti says, and she walks over to the closest screen.

The screen flickers before suddenly liking with files.

Shaak Ti's eyes skim through the titles. She has no idea what to look for.

She tries to click on a few of the files.

Project Name: _Order 66_

Shaak orders the file opened, but it is revealed that the data inside was not salvaged from the main system.

The same results are provided when she opens the files labeled _Death Star _and _Influence Midi-Chlorians._

With every file that she opens, more disappointment is revealed.

_Was anything salvaged?_

Shaak Ti skims through the few remaining files, her eyes searching.

For what she does not know.

Suddenly, her eyes alight on a file. It is the last one in the long list. Slowly she reads its name.

Project Name: _Darth Vader_

A shiver runs through her as she reads the words. It is certainly a Sith's name, but certainly not one she has ever heard of.

"Open file _Darth Vader,_" Shaak Ti commands.

The screen blinks once before zooming into the file. A new page is revealed, and this one has only a few words.

Experiment: _Darth Vader_

Test Subject: _Anakin Skywalker_

Shaak Ti reads the words carefully before clicking for the next page. As the screen changes a preface is revealed.

Shaak Ti only has to read a few lines in before she knows.

Quickly she rushes over to the comm-link situated in the room. She activates it in a rush, and her hands shake as she presses the button.

A moment later a holo of Master Yoda and Master Windu appear.

Shaak Ti quickly raises a hand to stop their questions.

"You must locate Skywalker immediately," Shaak Ti says, "restrain him, lock him up, it doesn't matter. You must reach him immediately, before-."

Her voice is cut off by a sudden tremble in the force. It only takes a moment for the quiver to change into an earthquake.

Darkness falls, coating everything.

Shaak Ti's eyes widen, and her heart freezes. Her next words are shaky as she speaks.

"It's too late."

**. x • X • x .**

**Okay, so stuff is about to happen!**

**Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, so I love a good fight scene!**

**If you have any trouble visualizing what's happening in this chapter. . .just imagine the fight at the end of RotS. But, you know, different ending. **

**(Of course what happens in the fight isn't the same, but I just mean the type of fighting)**

**Please enjoy!**

**. x • X • x .**

"Prepare to die, Jedi."

With that Anakin lunges forward. Obi-Wan's body moves of it's accord. His arm brings his own lightsaber up, and it flickers to left just in time to block Anakin's.

With a hiss Anakin presses forward, but Obi-Wan stands strong. He holds his lightsaber firmly, and he refuses to be pushed down.

Obi-Wan manages to shove Anakin back, and he quickly shouts an order to Ahsoka before Anakin engages him again.

"Take the padawan to the healer's wing!"

The words have barely left his mouth when Anakin's blade swoops down once more. Instinctively, Obi-Wan slides his own up to intercept it.

As Obi-Wan concentrates on the lightsaber locked against his own, he senses Ahsoka's hesitation. From experience with the girl he knows that she is contemplating joining the fight.

"Ahsoka, go!" Obi-Wan snaps, and his voice leaves no room for debate.

Finally Ahsoka obeys him. Both her and the youngling's presences disappear down the hall, and Obi-Wan is left to fight Anakin.

Anakin attacks in a whirl of fury. His strikes hammer down on Obi-Wan, and it is all Obi-Wan can do to block this flurry of blows.

_Where is all of this anger coming from? _Obi-Wan thinks to himself as Anakin attacks. Anakin's fury slaps him in waves that are so intense they feel almost like blows.

Even though Obi-Wan is slowly being pushed back, he still tries to talk reason with his former-padawan.

"Anakin, this is madness," Obi-Wan says sharply, even as he ducks a slash that would have taken his head off.

_Shouldn't have taught him that_, Obi-Wan thinks for the hundredth time in the fight.

"The only madness here is the Jedi order themselves," Anakin replies cooly, and Obi-Wan stumbles slightly at his words.

Anakin takes this opportunity to cut in a shove with the force. Obi-Wan flies back, but when he lands he manages to tuck into a roll. He pushes himself back to his feet as Anakin attacks once more.

"Anakin, those are the words of a Sith!" Obi-Wan declares, and Anakin laughs harshly. His golden eyes glint with amusement.

Their hate-filled gaze unnerves Obi-Wan almost as much as his reply.

"What else am I to be called?" Anakin muses, and Obi-Wan's eyes widen is shock. A harsh chill settles in his bones.

"Anakin, you are a Jedi! Do not let the darkness cloud your mind," Obi-Wan says, and Anakin snarls in reply.

His next words make Obi-Wan's heart stop and break at the same time. He does not recognize the man before him.

"The darkness does not control me," Anakin hisses, "I _am_ the darkness."

**. x • X • x .**

Ahsoka rushes down the hall, the youngling clutched tightly in her arms as her feet pound in a ragged rhythm on the hard floor.

Tears stream down her face as she flees the scene behind her. Sobs catch in her throat, and she struggles to control herself. To keep from falling to the floor and letting her misery overtake her.

_My master has fallen to the dark side._

Even now she can feel his dark presence behind her. It overshadows the temple, and it covers the light that usually shines.

Ahsoka struggles to draw her mind away from his. There are more important things that need her attention right now, like the child lying in her arms.

_The child my master nearly killed. . ._

Ahsoka searches blindly for a sign of someone. . .anyone that can help her.

But the hallways are empty. Not a single Jedi or guard is in sight. No one is there to help her.

Ahsoka rushes around a corner, and she struggles to keep the child steady in her arms. The youngling lets out a slight moan of pain as he is jostled by her rushed movements.

_Hold on_, she thinks, _please, you must._

She casts her thoughts out towards the child, along with a wave of peace and protection. She hides her own fears from him, as that will only make the situation worse.

This is the bests she can do.

Suddenly, two figures appear at the end of the hall. Through the tears that cloud her eyes Ahsoka cannot make out who they are.

Ahsoka continues to charge forward, and the two pairs race towards each other.

A moment later they reach her, and she stumbles as she comes to a stop. The smaller of the two figures helps to steady her.

"Ahsoka! What happened?" the presence asks, and Ahsoka recognizes the speaker as Master Shaak Ti. A glance towards her companion reveals Master Windu.

A rush of relief courses through Ahsoka at the familiar figures presences.

"I. . .I. . ." Ahsoka stutters, and she struggles to find words to explain what happened, "Anakin. . ."

Shaak Ti's eyes widen, and she immediately takes the child into her arms. Both her and Windu lean over the small figure. Worry pours off of each Jedi in waves.

"He's still alive," Shaak Ti breaths after a moment's pause, "but barely. I must take him to the healer's wing immediately."

Shaak Ti hurries off, the youngling wrapped safely in her arms. She soon disappears down the hall.

Windu quickly turns to Ahsoka. He wastes no time in any further questions. He needs no explanation, it seems.

_Has he expected this all along? _Ahsoka's mind numbly wonders.

"Where is Anakin?" he snaps, and his voice is cold.

Calculated. Prepared to do what he must.

It takes Ahsoka a moment to reply. She is still dazed from the events she just witnessed. Her master just. . . He just. . .

"He's fighting Obi-Wan," Ahsoka mumbles, knowing the weight of her words as she speaks.

_Her master. A man who is to her a father, a brother, a friend._

Her words seal his fate.

**. x • X • x .**

Obi-Wan flips back as Anakin slashes forward.

They have moved from their original hallway, and now Anakin is pressing Obi-Wan towards the are where the hangars are located.

Obi-Wan hopes that he will find help there. Surely someone will be stationed inside the hangars. . .

In a desperate move, Obi-Wan shoves Anakin forcefully back.

Anakin stumbles slightly, and Obi-Wan used this opportunity to add in a push with the force. Anakin flies back to hit the wall, and he is temporarily dazed. this gives Obi-Wan just a couple moments time.

Obi-Wan takes these few seconds to charge into the hangar.

He has to get Anakin out of the enclosed hall spaces. He believes he can fight him better in the open spaces of the hangar.

He hopes that he can fight him there.

Also. . . there might be someone else stationed in the hangars. A soldier, or a temple guard.

Someone who can help.

**. x • X • x .**

Captain Rex stands beside the two new recruits. Both are fresh from Kamino, and it is his job to run them through the rules before he releases them to the barracks.

Rex is just going through basic defense protocols in case of attack when a shout rings out from behind him. All three men immediacy turn to locate the source of this noise.

_What? . . ._

Rex is met with the sight of Obi-Wan running down the hangar, a look of concentration and fear on his face. The Jedi glances back multiple times as if to check for someone is in pursuit.

Obi-Wan quickly nears the three clones.

Rex is just about to call out to the man, when a shout of fury erupts from the entrance of the hangar

Rex turns at the sound of this inhuman shriek, and he sees a figure leap from the end of the room.

The dark presence flies through the air, landing just behind Obi-Wan. A blade of blue fire leaps out towards the Jedi's unprotected back.

Rex is already in motion. His gun is up and level, and a shot has already been fired towards the dark stranger.

With a snap the figure swings his blade up to block the bolt aimed at his chest, and it is then that Rex finally recognizes the man.

"General? . . ." the captain gasps as he takes in the now familiar figure.

General Skywalker turns his gaze to the clone captain, and Rex is met with eyes of molten gold. They shine with fury and raw hatred.

The General lifts his hand, and he waves it in an almost dismissive gesture. The three clones immediately go flying back, and they strike the side of a fighter hard.

_What. . .what's going on?_ Rex's mind asks, even as he begins to fade from consciousness. The impact was hard, and his was spins from the blow.

As his mind falls to black, he gets one last glimpse of Anakin engaging Obi-Wan. He watches as the older Jedi's lightsaber is swiped from his hand

Then he knows nothing.

**. x • X • x .**

Obi-Wan's hand jerks as his lightsaber is snatched from him. He watches as it slowly clatters away, seeming to fall in slow motion.

Only a moment later, he feels a hand wrap around his neck.

The grip is strong, and Obi-Wan knows it has more than enough power to crush his throat. He has seen those metal fingers tear apart things much stronger than his flesh and bone.

The fingers wrapped around his throat squeeze tightly, just enough to almost cut off air flow. Almost, but not quite.

This leaves him struggling for oxygen, as he is only able to draw in the barest traces of breath.

Obi-Wan's eyes fly upwards, and he struggles to catch his breath as he searches those eyes staring down at him. He searches for any sign of the man he once knew.

The man who was pasawan. . . but so much more.

His friend. . .his brother. . .his son.

But instea did bright blue eyes that laugh quietly, he sees eyes of gold. They gleam with triumph. With hatred and fury.

"Anakin. . ." Obi-Wan stutters, and in reply Anakin squeezes his throat tighter.

Obi-Wan's hands scratch at the metal surrounding his throat, but his strength is quickly fading. Dark spots dance at the edges of his vision.

His shaken thoughts keek him from calling upon the force, from doing anything

All he can do is stare at those golden eyes. He am only watch the hatred that burns there.

Distantly, Obi-Wan hears a voice calling in the distance.

_"Skywalker! No!"_

Obi-Wan can't tell if this voice is real, or if it is simply a figment of his imagination.

_Maybe this is all a dream_, Obi-Wan thinks to himself, _a terrible, horrible dream. Soon I will wake up. I will tell Anakin about this, and we will laugh over the sheer impossibility of it all._

But Obi-Wan knows this not to be true.

As he watches, Anakin's lightsaber rises above him. It hovers in the air, preparing to fall.

As this happens, Anakin's grip on Obi-Wan's throat loosens slightly. Obi-Wan finds the will to attempt speech one last time. To attempt reason once more.

"Anakin. . . please. . ."

Obi-Wan's will is spent. Anything else he wished to say dies on his tongue.

He waits for the blade to fall. He womanist for the sting as the bed slices through flesh.

Obi-Wan's eyes are filled with brightness, and his body falls limp. He stares unseeing at the world above.

At the golden eyes that float, leaving flames of scorching fury behind.

Suddenly, a cry of anguish reaches his ears. It is distant, and muddled. Vaguely, words twirl through his mind.

_"Master, no! Please, no! I'm sorry! So, so sorry! Stay with me!"_

Obi-Wan's mind disregards this voice as it slowly drifts away. All he can do is stare at the brightness above.

He can only stare at the eyes. . .as they slowly disappear.

Two bright blue orbs take their place above Obi-Wan. They plead with him, and tears fall from these eyes even as he falls away. His mind drifts towards darkness.

_"Please no!" _

The voice shrieks at him. It's voice is desperate.

Obi-Wan's mind falls to black.

**. x • X • x .**

**Don't worry. . . he's probably not going to die. . .**

**Probably.**

**This story is slightly depressing, isn't it? And a bit dark. . . **

**That's what I like about it! **

**Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**This is kind of late, but thank you so much for all the lovely reviews I have received!**

**Please enjoy!**

**. x • X • x .**

Obi-Wan wakes slowly, and his mind is full of fog. He feels almost as though there is a weight pressing down on him, trying to keep him in the darkness.

He has to force himself to wake. Obi-Wan mentally commands his eyes to open.

As his lids slide back he is bombarded with a violent flash of light.

He winces at the sudden glaring rays. It is then that the pain hits.

It prickles through his body, and feels almost like the horrible pricking sensation one experiences when a limb falls asleep.

This feeling rushes through his entire body, but it is nothing compared to the searing pain that surrounds his neck.

Obi-Wan takes a careful breath, but it quickly erupts into a rattle-like cough that sounds horrible and feels even worse.

The sensation is like someone is stabbing him repeatedly in the throat. He feels almost as though he has swallowed shards of glass.

"Look who's finally decided to join the land of the living," a voice says grimly. The speaker stands just out of sight.

Slowly, Obi-Wan sits up. Even though the action is quite painful, he forces himself to push himself up

Only when he is comfortably sitting up does he turn to face who had spoken.

Mace Windu.

The man stands just inside the doorway, leaning against the frame.

"Do. . .do come in," Obi-Wan says, struggling to force the words out. His voice sounds hoarse and scratchy even to his own ears.

Windu walks into the room, and he comes to stand beside Obi-Wan's bed.

"How. . .how long was I out?" Obi-Wan asks, and he tries not to shudder at the raspy sound his voice makes.

Windu is silent for a moment before he answers.

"Three days," he says in reply. Obi-Wan immediately feels a rush of shock race through him. He struggles to contain it.

"What happened?" Obi-Wan asks, his voice barely a harsh whisper.

"Don't you remember?" Windu asks. His voice betrays none of what he is feeling inside.

Obi-Wan is silent for a moment as the minutes preceding his blackout come rushing back to him.

_The fight. His fall. Anakin's hand wrapped around his throat._

"I mean. . .what happened to Anakin? Where is he now?" Obi-Wan asks, and he struggles to force the words out.

It takes a moment for Windu to reply, and Obi-Wan immediately fears the worse.

Despite the control he has struggled to keep over his emotions since waking, now his fears spill over.

Windu turns to him sharply.

"Do not let your emotions control you, Obi-Wan. I know you are too attached to the boy," Windu says sharply, but as he continues his tone looses its slight edge, "besides, the boy is not dead."

"What?" Obi-Wan says suddenly, and hope blossoms, "may I see him?"

Windu watches him for several seconds, as if gauging him for the reaction to his answer. Obi-Wan waits patiently for his reply.

"Are you sure you want to?" Windu says, and his voice is soft.

It only takes a single breath for Obi-Wan to reply. He answers with complete certainty.

"Yes."

**. x • X • x .**

Getting Obi-Wan out of the healer's wing is a simple matter. His only injuries were some nasty bruises around his neck.

After receiving a stern warning not to strain his vocal chords over the next few days, Obi-Wan is free to go.

So, he follows Windu as the older Jedi leads him through the temple.

Soon Obi-Wan finds himself in the lower levels of the temple. The darker, less used rooms. Some of these places he has never ventured before.

Mostly because they are strictly off limits.

Finally Master Windu stops outside a plain metal door. A code-entry lock equipped with DNA scan is stationed to the side. There is nothing special about it all, besides the security measure, except that if Obi-Wan stretches his senses out. . .

He can sense Anakin somewhere inside.

Windu moves to the door, and he quickly types the required code in. He then levels his eye before the scanner, and a moment later his identity is accepted.

_High security_, Obi-Wan thinks to himself. A sick feeling has started to form in the pit of his stomach, and his throat aches.

The door slides open, and Windu steps through it. Obi-Wan is close behind him.

The room he enters is not at all what he might expect.

It is almost like. . .a lab.

Tools are scattered everywhere, and across one wall is a mess of screens and control systems. Strings of data run across the multiple screens.

Meandering around the room are several specialist droids. Standing beside them, giving out orders, are several Jedi.

Windu leads Obi-Wan through the mess to where Master Yoda is currently sitting on a hovering pod. Shaak Ti stands beside him.

"Ah, Obi-Wan. Recovering well, are you?" Yoda asks, and a touch of concern marks his tone.

"As well as can be expected," Obi-Wan replies, and he tries not to wince at the scratchiness of his voice.

"I suppose you came to see Anakin?" Shaak Ti asks, even though her certainty alerts Obi-Wan that she already knows the answer.

"Yes," he says anyway in reply, "how. . .how is he?"

The three Jedi masters exchange looks, and Obi-Wan can see quite clearly that there is something they for want him to know.

"He. . .isn't himself," Shaak Ti says in reply, "but I suppose that is only to be expected."

"What. . .what do you mean?" Obi-Wan asks, and confusion marks his tone.

"We'll let you see for yourself first," Windu says, "then we'll explain. We still don't quite understand ourselves what exactly happened."

Obi-Wan quickly nods in assent, and the masters gesture for him to follow. He is all to happy to oblige.

He only wants to see Anakin.

Shaak Ti takes the lead, and she guides the group to a room located at the back of the lab area.

Shaak Ti stops before the door.

Here she has to put in another passcode-entry, and complete another DNA scan before she is permitted access.

It isn't lost on Obi-Wan that he has not been presented with the codes or procedure to enter a room.

The group follows Shaak Ti into the new room.

Obi-Wan's eyes quickly sweep the area, and he notices many things at once.

They are in a small room that is designed like an observation deck. There are several chairs positioned in the room, and a few tables.

All are facing the direction of the back wall, which is made of spotless, one way glass. The glass is thick, and is made of a special blast proof type that is usually only seen in high security prisons on Coruscant.

_I suppose that is what this is, _Obi-Wan thinks to himself.

Obi-Wan's eyes are immediately drawn to the new room's single occupant.

Anakin.

He sits in the middle of the room, legs crossed beneath him. His head is bowed so that his face is shielded from the group standing in the opposite room. He would seem almost peaceful . . .

If it weren't for the electric binders encircling his wrists and ankles, chaining him to the ground.

Anakin seems to not notice their presences at all, in fact his entire attention seems to be captivated with something in his hands.

His hands are currently folded in his lap, but as Obi-Wan watches Anakin slowly runs his fingers together. If Obi-Wan watches closely he can see signs of Anakin's lips moving, though his words are lost.

"Can he not sense us?" Obi-Wan asks, and he is unable to turn his gaze from the imprisoned man as he speaks.

Shaak Ti steps to his side as she answers him. Her tone is sad as she observes Anakin inside he prison.

"He has been heavily drugged and sedated," Shaak Ti says softly, "we hope that this will keep him from attempting escape again."

"Again?" Obi-Wan asks, his voice confused.

Shaak Ti winces, as though remembering something bitter.

"Yes, we underestimated him," she says, her voice still soft, "Masters Ki Adi Mundi and Saesee Tiin are still in the healer's wing because of it."

Obi-Wan is tempted to ask more about this, but more pressing issues reign his mind.

"May I. . .may I see him?" Obi-Wan asks, and he finally turns his gaze away from Anakin to face the three masters. Each of them watch him with differing levels of concern and disapproval.

"He isn't himself," Shaak Ti says, her voice calm and almost mechanical sounding, "he won't recognize you. We had to heavily drug him just for him to lose the ability to make conscious decisions."

"I don't care," Obi-Wan says, "let me see him, then explain what you wish."

The three masters exchange looks, and something unspoken passes between them before Windu finally steps forward.

He moves silently to the final door leading to Anakin's prison. This door is made of heavy metal, and it's security measures are just as high as the other doors in this wing.

Windu completes the necessary procedures, before pushing the heavy door inward. He then steps aside for Obi-Wan to walk in.

Obi-Wan walks cautiously past the master, and he warily steps into the room. He pauses in the entranceway before making his way to Anakin's side.

From here he gets a better look at the extremely bland, boring room.

It is comprised of three identical white walls, and one wall that is made of reflective metal. Obi-Wan knows this one to be the one-way window, but from this direction it simply appears to be a mirror.

The moment Obi-Wan steps inside the room, the door swings shut behind him.

Obi-Wan cautiously makes his way across the room until he is standing above Anakin's sitting form. Slowly Obi-Wan kneels beside him. The buzzing electricity that runs through Anakin's binders crackles in the air.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan softly, but he gets no response. Anakin doesn't wen give him a sign to a knowledge his presence.

Obi-Wan is now close enough to hear what Anakin is muttering, even though he can't make a bit of sense from what he hears.

"_Why. . .no. . .dark. . .sane. . .left. . .return. . .light. . ."_

To Obi-Wan it appears as though the man is simply rambling. None of his words connect, and they seem to be a random rush of thought.

_What has happened to him?_ Obi-Wan wonders to himself, distraught over his friends condition.

"Anakin?" Obi-Wan asks, and his voice is pleading. Anakin's ramble of words continue, but there is some focus to them now.

_"Jedi here. . .control too difficult. . .danger - no - revenge. . ."_

Anakin's words almost seem to stumble on the last bit. Almost as though he was. . .unsure. As though he was fighting with himself.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan says once more. This time though, his voice comes out as a snap. His word echoes in the chamber, bouncing off the walls, before finally the room becomes silent once more.

It takes Obi-Wan several seconds to realize what the silence means. Anakin's ramblings have stopped.

Obi-Wan feels a sudden sense of clarity in the force, a sense of focus from his friend.

"Anakin?" Obi-Wan says again, and his voice is questioning once more.

A ragged breath comes from the man beside him, before he breathes a slow reply.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi."

The words sound undecided, almost as though he is tasting them for effect. Several seconds pass before he continues.

"A Jedi."

A chill runs up Obi-WANs spine at this word. it reminds him so much of what Anakin had said in the hallway only a few days earlier.

Right before he attacked him.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan says softly, "can you look at me?"

Anakin laughs suddenly at this. It is not a reassuring sound of joy or happiness. It rings with hysteria, and it almost borders on madness.

"Can you look at me, Obi-Wan?" Anakin replies right back, "can you see me? Do you understand?"

Obi-Wan is taken back by this sudden focus of questioning, and he struggles to compose himself. He can sense the eyes of the watching masters from the other room.

"I can see you, Anakin," Obi-Wan says calmly.

"No. . . no you don't," Anakin says with certainty, "you never have seen me."

The last part is suddenly whispered, and the tone drops to one of almost viciousness.

"But I do see you, Anakin," Obi-Wan insists. Anakin is quick to reply.

"Not the real me," Anakin replies, "not what lies hidden. . .beneath the light."

A sense of danger rings through the force. It tries to warn Obi-Wan, but he ignores these tremors. Instead he pushes forward.

"What hides beneath the light, Anakin?" Obi-Wan asks, and he leans forward.

Anakin doesn't immediately answer. Instead he takes a long, slow breath.

Then he slowly turns.

Anakin's face tilts up, and his eyes meet Obi-Wan's. Despite himself, Obi-Wan finds himself staring at their swirling depths.

As Obi-Wan watches, two colors spin in Anakin's eyes. They battle each other, reflecting the war that is occurring beneath the surface.

The gold fights against the blue.

Even as Obi-Wan watches the colors swirl around each other. Every now and then one will flash over the other, and it will grow stronger.

Each side fights to win.

"What hides in the light, Anakin?" Obi-Wan asks once more, and Anakin finally replies.

"Darkness," Anakin says, his tone somehow managing to sound vengeful and cautious at the same time.

_Darkness._

**. x • X • x .**

**Okay, so Anakin has kinda taken a dive off the deep end.**

**Hopefully he won't be crazy for long! (even though I kinda like it)**

**Extreme revelations will be in the next chapter! Don't forget about those files! (Project Darth Vader!)**

**Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Enjoy!**

**. o • O • o .**

After Anakin's sudden revelation, the three master observing the scene are quick to remove Obi-Wan from the room.

Shaak Ti hurriedly enters once he has exited, and she administers another dose of the sedative drug to Anakin.

A moment later she exits.

Obi-Wan stares at Anakin. Once more he is sitting, staring at his hands. Obi-Wan can see his lips moving, mumbling more nonsense as the drug clouds his mind.

"What happened to him?" Obi-Wan asks, and he doesn't even try to hide the tremble that manages to creep into his tone.

The three masters exchange glances, and more hidden conversation is exchanged between them.

"We only have some information," Shaak Ti says softly, "what we managed to gather from the files we retrieved."

"Well?" Obi-Wan asks, waiting expectantly to be told what has happened to his friend.

The masters exchange more secretive looks, before Windu finally speaks.

"It is best if you see for yourself," he says softly.

**. x • X • x .**

And so Obi-Wan is led back into the main lab area.

The masters take him to one of the many screens situated throughout the room, and Shaak Ti immediately begins to issue commands.

"Open file, _Darth Vad_er," she commands.

Obi-Wan frowns as he hears what is obviously a Sith's name, but not one he has ever heard of.

A moment later a file appears on screen. It opens to reveal two simple lines.

Project Name: _Darth Vader_

Experiment: _Anakin Skywalker_

"What. . .what is this?" Obi-Wan asks, and horror begins to fill his tone.

_Anakin. . .a part of some experiment?_

"This is nothing," Windu says softly, "Shaak Ti, let him read the files."

Shaak Ti says a few more commands, and a moment later words begin to appear on the screen. Line after line they appear.

The masters motion for him to read, and Obi-Wan warily begins.

_~ o O o ~_

_As following the studies and experiments of Darth Plagueis, this is an extent of the research he was unable to continue after his sudden death. _

_For more details on the mentioned force use, a full explanation of the exact process is in the file_ _**influence of midi-chlorians.**_

_~ o O o ~_

Obi-Wan looks up at the masters surrounding him.

"I don't understand how this applies-," he begins but Yoda quickly cuts him off.

"Skip to the preface, you must. Understand then, you will," he says, and Obi-Wan doesn't miss the grim tone in the old master's voice.

Obi-Wan turns back to the screen, and he skips down to the preface.

He begins to read once more.

_~ o O o ~_

_As Darth Plagueis grew in power and strength, he began to experiment with the midi-chlorians that make up the essence of the force. As he learned more of this branch of knowledge, his powers expanded._

_He began to experiment with the essence of life and death._

_Eventually, through many failed trials, he was able to create life through these new powers. By influencing the midi-chlorians, a child was conceived._

_It was ensured (and now proven) that this child would have the highest known count of midi-chlorians of any Jedi or Sith that has ever lived._

_At full potential and power none will be able to stand in his way._

_In accordance to Darth Plagueis' careful plans, this child is sure to resemble the prophecy of the Jedi's "Chosen One." The prophecy that specifically speaks of a child powerful in the ways of the force._

_This will ensure their doom._

_The child will lie in wait, growing up in their midsts. When the time comes, the darkness that created him will explode forth from inside him._

_He will be the Sith's greatest accomplishment, and the Jedi's end._

_**. . . . . . **_

_So far, despite several trials, only one successful experiment has come forth from Darth Plagueis' experiments._

_Test subject A (mother) : Shmi Skywalker_

_Test subject B (child) : Anakin Skywalker._

_Anakin has grown to be quite successful, and as he has been the sole survivor of the experiment it has even decided that he shall be dubbed Darth Vader._

_Soon operations Knightfall and Order 66 shall be enacted._

_As for the full extent of Darth Vader's power. . ._

_~ o O o ~ _

"I can't read anymore," Obi-Wan says, and he turns away from the screen. He covers his eyes with his hands and be takes a deep breath before he finds the will to speak again.

"How. . .how is this possible?" Obi-Wan whispers, "this can't be true!"

Without even looking Obi-Wan knows the masters are exchanging more secretive glances.

"We don't know," Shaak Ti says softly, "but it has happened. You have seen it for yourself."

Obi-Wan simply shakes his head. He draws his hand away from his eyes, and he gazes unseeing at his surrounding.

"This can't be," Obi-Wan says.

Windu steps forward then, and his tone is almost angry.

"We don't have time for you to be in denial, Obi-Wan," Windu says sharply, "you must stop focusing on your attachments to Skywalker and face the facts. The truth."

"And what is that?" Obi-Wan asks, his own tone taking a sharp edge.

As Windu moves to speak again, Shaak Ti quickly stops him. Instead she turns to speak to Obi-Wan. Her words are calm and sure.

And they say everything Obi-Wan doesn't wish to hear.

"Obi-Wan," she says softly, "Anakin was created by the Sith. He was made completely with the hopes that he would be our downfall."

**. o • O • o .**

Ahsoka sits quietly by one of the many windows that dot the halls. She stares out at the great expanse of buildings that lie before her. Her eyes scan the scene, but she doesn't see a single bit of it.

Her mind is too distracted with what happened only a few days earlier. . .

_The golden eyes full of hate. . .the body of the youngling in her arms. . ._

Suddenly a voice breaks through her thoughts. It is young, and full of contempt.

"You're the padawan whose master attacked the Jedi, aren't you?"

Ahsoka slowly turns her gaze to the source of the voice, and she is met with the sight of three padawan learners.

The one who spoke, and who is apparently the leader of the small group, is a young human. He is possibly only a few years younger than herself. His dull gray eyes stare at her with open disgust.

His companions are a pretty, emerald-skinned twi-lek girl, and a Rodian boy.

Ahsoka observes the three calmly.

"I do not know what it is you are speaking of," she says simply, before turning back to her window.

The boy scoffs at her, and this draws her gaze back. She narrows her eyes as he speaks again.

"Don't try to deny it!" he says, and he motions to his twi-lek companion, "Hanji is training in the healers wing, and she's seen his victims."

"Yeah, three Jedi masters, a padawan, and a clone captain," the Rodian chimes in, "I also heard that two other clones are _dead_ because of him."

Ahsoka simply observes them calmly. She doesn't let any of her inner turmoil show on her face.

"What do you want?" she says finally.

The three padawan's exchange glances. They are surprised that she hasn't exploded into a burst of anger yet.

The twi-lek girl steps forward to speak next. She looks down on Ahsoka in a very un-Jedi like way. Her eyes are ill of contempt.

"We want to know if he's a Sith," Hanji says, and her tone is demanding, "and. . .if you are one too."

A look of fear crosses the three's face, and Ahsoka watches as their hands creep to their lightsabers.

"Maybe I am," she says softly, before turning her gaze back towards the window.

She doesn't turn back around.

The three padawans try and fail to gain her attention with many more jabs towards her and her master.

Ahsoka ignores them all.

Eventually they leave.

Ahsoka is left alone in her perch. She stares sadly out over the sea of buildings.

Slowly tears trace their way down her cheeks.

_Why master? why?_

**. o • O • o .**

Padmé stares out the window of her apartment, one hand laying on her rounded stomach as she does so.

She stares across the lines of towering buildings, to the Jedi temple lying in the distance.

She knows that something is wrong.

_Anakin, where are you?_ She thinks to herself as more waves of the horrible feeling descend upon her.

The only way it can be described as is. . .wrong.

_Horribly, terribly, viciously wrong._

Padmé shudders slightly, and she wraps her arms around herself. She feels a slight sting at her eyes, and a moment later a slight tickle brushes her cheek.

She lets the tears fall.

_Where are you Anakin? Why have you not come?_

The tears continue to fall down her cheeks as she stares out at the distant temple.

Thoughts of sadness begin to bombard her. Thoughts of him leaving her, of him not loving her anymore. .

_No._

With a flash Padmé suddenly snaps back to herself. She furiously wipes her tears away.

_I will not let my emotions get the better of me_, she thinks to herself, and she scolds herself for her moment of weakness.

Briskly, she walks towards the door, and she reaches for her most concealing cloak.

"Mistress Padmé? Where are you going?"

Threepio appears, and he hastily walks towards his mistress as Padmé slips on her cloak.

"Out, Threepio," Padmé says, "I might not be back until late."

It takes a bit more convincing to get Threepio to leave her be, but eventually he hobbles off.

Padmé quickly walks towards the door, but she pauses just before exiting.

She lays a gentle hand on her stomach, and a feeling of warmth rushes through her as she feels the child inside. She smiles as she feels a slight kick from the baby.

"Let's go find your father, hmm?"

**. o • O • o.**

Anakin's mind is a fog, a blur of thoughts and commands.

The two sides battle within his mind.

The dark side is enraged. It had thought that it had defeated the light, that the light was dead.

Somehow, the light managed to come back.

But the light is weak, frail. Without a steady hold it will soon fade away again. Soon it will be gone.

The light will soon die.

_Escape_, the dark side whispers, _exact revenge on the Jedi._

Anakin can feel himself starting to listen to the voice.

**. o • O • o .**

**Yeah. Big reveals and all this stuff.**

**More sadness and darkness to come.**

**Please review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay, so things by pretty dark from here.**

**Enjoy!**

**. x • X • x .**

Anakin slowly gains focus as his mind rids itself of the horrible drugs.

_The drugs given to him by the Jedi._

Rage overtakes Anakin as his mind focuses on that. Anger and hatred rush through him, and he focuses these feelings on the task at hand.

Escape.

The light whispers to him, it tells him that this is wrong. That he should turn away from the dark.

Anakin shoves these thoughts away, and he instead focuses on exactly what he must do. Plans filter through his mind.

Escape will come soon.

_Then I can focus on revenge._

**. x • X • x .**

Padme's speeder stops just in front of the temple, and she hastily climbs out of it.

She draws her cloak tightly around her as she enters the temple, and she tries to make herself as unnoticable as possible.

This is a hard feat to accomplish when one is surrounded by beings that thave been trained since a young age to practically read minds.

She only makes it a short distance before she is stopped.

"Where do you think you are going?"

Padmé freezes at the sharp tone, and she turns to see an young Jedi walking briskly towards her. The human girl's robes swing around her as she walks.

"I asked, what are you doing?" the Jedi repeats as she draws near to Padmé, "these are the residence areas. What is your business here?"

Padmé opens her mouth, already struggling to come up with some story to feed the young Jedi. From the set stance of the girl before her, Padmé can already tell that the Jedi has already decided to dismiss whatever she says.

"I-," she begins, already struggling to make her act convincing.

_"Padmé?"_

Both women turn as a new Jedi walks onto the scene. Padmé's captor looks surprised at the new Jedi's appearance.

"Ahsoka what are you doing here?" the Jedi asks, sounding almost concerned, "nevermind, you can help me here."

"Help with what, Elia?" the young togruta asks, a frown appearing on her face.

"It appears we have an intruder," the human, who Padmé assumes is Elia, says. Padmé can't help but notice the young human's hand is sneaking towards her lightsaber.

Luckily Ahsoka thinks quickly.

"An intuder?" she asks, and suprise leaks into her tone, "you must be mistaken. Padmé is here to see me."

"Oh," Elia says quickly, and a slight red tinge touches her cheeks as she turns to face Padme, "my apologies."

"It is quite alright," Padmé says in reply.

"Well. . .I'll leave you two alone then," Elia says simply, and her embarassment is obvious. She turns quickly, and begins to walk away.

The girl pauses just as she walks past Ahsoka, and a concerned look appears on her face.

"I'm so sorry for what happened with. . ." she says softly, and Ahsoka stiffens slightly at her words, "if you need anything, I'm here."

"Thank you, Elia," Ahsoka says quietly.

Padmé cant help but notice that something is. . .different about the usually energetic young padawan. It takes her several moments of observation to realize what is wrong.

The spark that usually lights the girl is gone, put out somehow.

Elia disappears down the hallway, and Ahsoka turns to watch the girl until she has turned a corner. It is then that she switches her attention back to Padmé.

"Why are you here?" Ahsoka asks, and a frown crosses her face, " you aren't actually an intruder are you?"

"No, of course not," Padmé says quickly, "I'm actually here to. . .to see Anakin. I heard he was hurt."

At her words Ahsoka freezes, and her eyes widen. She is quiet for several moments.

"Ahsoka, is something wrong?" Padme asks, and concern leaks into her tone.

Many more seconds pass before Ahsoka speaks, and when she does their is no trace of the usual confidence in her voice.

_Something is definitely wrong,_ Padmé thinks to herself.

"Come with me, Padmé," Ahsoka says softly, "there's much you need to know."

**. x • X • x .**

The soft scratching noise of metal on metal is all the alert Anakin needs.

The door slowly opens.

Anakin takes a long slow breath, and he struggles to focus. Traces of the drug still cloud his mind, trying to fog his senses, and he needs all of his focus for what he is about to do.

Slight taps alert him of the approaching enemy. He can feel the tremors of feet slapping the ground.

He can hear the heartbeat that approaches. The steady staccato quickly draws near.

The presence stops just above him, and it pauses as it preps the syringe. Slowly the figure leans forward.

It is then Anakin strikes.

He throws himself forward, and his head strikes the figure in the abdomen, sending the person stumbliing back.

Anakin shoves himself to his feet, and he launches himself as far as his restraints will allow. His feet whip out, knocking the still unkown presence to the ground.

His hand reaches forward, and he grips the person's head. He brings it up before slamming it roughly to the ground.

The figure struggles against him, fighting roughly in an attempt to reach their lightsaber.

Anakin works quickly.

He slams the figure's head into the ground roughly in rapid succesion.

Their struggles quicky stop.

Anakin releases the figure, and he pushes himself to his feet. He only has a few seconds to act. He knows that Jedi are already rushing towards him. He can sense them in the next room.

Anakin wraps the force around him, and he draws upon his fury. The power comes easily to him, and it flows around him in waves.

The room begins to shake. Cracks appear in the heavy metal walls.

Anakin focuses the endless power on his binders, and they instantly snap. He gently runs a hand on the scraped skin of his wrists.

Then Anakin turns his attention to the reflective surface before him.

He holds one hand before him, and he throws the power out.

The room around him hums as the waves of energy wash off of him. A spiderweb of cracks and fractures begins to appear in the mirror-like surface, and Anakin intensifies his attack.

With a deafening crash the glass explodes outwards. The few that happened to be standing on the other side are caught in the line of these deadly glass projectiles.

Anakin rushes through the now open space, into the next room. He quickly scans the observation space for any imminent threats.

The three Jedi who were caught in the glass explosion lie on the floor, either dead or close to it. Anakin doesn't waste anytime on the obviously non threatening bodies.

Anakin quickly makes his way to the next door, one that he simply pushes open.

For all their high security and precautions, the Jedi never expected he would get past the first door. They were more worried that help would come from the outside.

Anakin easily exits the room, and he enters the lab.

There are few Jedi working in the lab at the moment. Only three instead of the twelve that were here when Obi-Wan visited.

Anakin disposes of all three with a powerful force push before they can even ignite their lightsabers. His power rips through the room, leaving it in shambles.

Anakin walks through the pieces of mangled machinery to the final door. The lights flicker above, and a moan comes from one of the not quite dead Jedi.

Anakin strolls by all without a second glance. His vision is only filled with the final door that blocks him from freedom.

So, he doesn't see the elderly Jedi as she shakily reaches for the alarm button. Her trembling fingers grasp the trigger, and immediatly the sound of sirens fills the temple.

Anakin whirls around, and he violently whips his hand out.

A moment later a crack fills the air as he crushes her neck through a force choke. Her body falls limply to the floor a moment later.

But it is too late.

The entire temple knows of his escape.

**. x • X • x .**

_(A few minutes earlier)_

Ahsoka finally comes to the end of her tale. The senator has now heard all of her account of the events she had witnessed, of the bodies she had seen.

Ahsoka slowly looks up at the senator. While telling her story she had been unable to look the woman in the eye.

The events hurt too much to see the same pain and shock she feels reflected in another's eyes

Ahsoka turns her gaze to the senator's, and she sees something that takes her completely unawares.

Tears.

They trickle down the senator's cheeks, falling from her eyes in a steady stream. One of the woman's hands covers her mouth, as though in an attempt to keep her sobs concealed. Her other hand is hidden beneath her cloak, as though the woman is ill.

These thoughts are quite sickening, Ahsoka thinks to herself.

Ahsoka watches as the senator struggles to speak, to find words.

"I. . .don't believe. . .this is impossible," Padmé says, her voice barely above a whisper. But Ahsoka can sense the belief behind her denial.

She knows Ahsoka's words are true. She can feel the truth in them, in the way they weigh heavily on the air.

"I know it is," Ahsoka says softly, "and I don't know how. . .or why."

"This isn't like him at all," Padmé says softly, "this. . .it came from nowhere."

Ahsoka feels a slight burst of annoyance at the senator's words. The way the woman is acting. . .

_It's as though they were. . .friends. Good friends. Maybe. . .closer than friends,_ Ahsoka thinks to herself.

But she quickly finds herself dismissing these things.

She would know if her master was. . .involved with anyone.

_Would you?_ A dark voice whispers in the back of her mind, _are you sure you really know your master? The man who is willing to kill innocent younglings. . .to kill you?_

Ahsoka struggles to push these thoughts away. She takes a deep breath, and it is painful in her lungs. Her eyes sting as she fights the tears that have been threatening to fall for so long.

Sometimes she lets them fall.

But right now, Ahsoka refuses to cry. She needs to be strong right now. She has to fight the ever present darkness.

"I don't know anymore," Ahsoka says softly, "he. . .he didn't seem like himself at all."

Padmé frowns suddenly at this, and it appears as though she is about to voice her thoughts aloud. She is suddenly interrupted as someone walks upon their conversation.

"Ahsoka, and. . .Senator Amidala?"

Both women turn quickly around, and they only relax after they see that it is only Obi-Wan. The older Jedi hurries to join them, concern crossing his face as he takes in Padmé's tearstained cheeks.

"Senator. . .are you alright? What are you doing here?" Obi-Wan asks, concern lacing his features.

Padmé takes a deep breath before addressing him, and when she does so she completly ignores his first question.

"I came to see Anakin," Padmé says, and she stares up at the Jedi. Her gaze is expectant.

Obi-Wan immediatly stiffens, and understanding rushes through him.

"Ah," he says, and his tone is full of a deep sadness and understanding, "that. . .explains things. I suppose Ahsoka told you what she knows?"

Both the young padawan and the senator nod at this.

Obi-Wan opens his mouth to speak, but something stops him. He freezes suddenly, and he stares at Padmé in confusion.

"Senator. . ." he says carefully, "is there something. . .different about you?"

Padmé immediatly pales at his words, and Ahsoka fills with confusion. She turns to look at the senator, a questioning look on her face.

"I-." Padmé begins, looking both determined and weary as she speaks.

But she never finishes.

Because, at that moment, panic breaks out.

The screeching sound of a siren blares through the temple, alerting all of the danger that has been unleashed inside.

Ahsoka and Padmé both turn to Obi-Wan as the horrible noise continues, looks of fear and confusion on their face at the sound. They have no knowledge of its meaning, but they have sense enough to know that it represents something terrible.

Obi-Wan, on the other hand, knows exactly what the siren means.

His face drains of any trace of color, and a trickle of fear works its way into his heart.

At this moment, he knows that nothing has scared him more in his entire life.

_No_, he thinks to himself, _please. . .please no._

But he can already feel the darkness as it descends on the temple, as it washes away the light. Only one thing could have casued this.

Anakin is free.

**. x • X • x .**

**Okay, so in the next chapter. . .stuff is going to get pretty bad.**

**I'm super excited!**

**Sadly, the next update will not be posted until Saturday. (sorry)**

**Please review! And check out my other stories as well!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Enjoy!**

**. x • X • x .**

Anakin walks deeper into the temple. His steps are full of purpose, and his expression is one of determination.

As he walks, his hand slips to his newly acquired lightsaber. The green blade was snatched from a young Jedi who happened to be lingering too close to Anakin's cell.

The struggle the Jedi put up was quite short. Anakin didn't bother with hiding her body as he left the scene, as such attempts would only waste his time.

The temple has already been alerted of his escape.

Anakin follows the whispering darkness as it guides him on. The darkness prods him in the right direction as he moves.

He has to make it out of the temple. As of right of now he is seriously outnumbered. To take on the entire temple would only be suicidal.

The darkness tells him he must wait. He must bide his time.

He must be patient.

Soon the Sith will have their revenge. The Jedi will be no more.

Anakin has almost reached the temple's exit when the danger resgisters. The force trembles as he senses the threat behind him.

Anakin whirls around, and his stolen lightsaber flies up just in time to meet the falling purple blade.

Anakin instantly knows the wielder of this lightsaber, and he snarls as he pushes the man back.

Mace Windu is forced back by the intensity of Anakin's defense, and he retreats a few steps. Now that space has arisen between the two, the men circle each other. They prowl like animals awaiting their prey.

"This is madness, Skywalker," Windu snaps, his voice cold and mechanical sounding. No trace of concern or warmth marks his tone.

Anakin hisses at him, and his golden eyes flash dangerously.

"The only madness here is the order," Anakin snarls, "and now I have been set free from those trecharous ways."

Anakin flies forward suddenly, and his blade clashes against Windu's. In a flurry of strikes the two men attack each other. Windu barely manages to fend off Anakin's furious attack.

When their blades lock once more, Windu takes a chance to speak once more.

"Your words are those of a Sith," Windu snaps, disgust leaking into his tone.

A shiver runs up the older Jedi's spine as Anakin laughs. The sound is marked with near hysteria.

"What else would you call me?" Anakin says with a smirk. His lips form a viscious sneer.

"You have fallen far, Skywalker," Windu says, and a tone of weariness suddenly appears in his tone. In response Anakin growls.

"No. It is the Jedi that have fallen."

With that they engage each other once more.

**. x • X • x .**

Obi-Wan rushes after the senator as she races down the hall. Ahsoka easily keeps pace beside him as they follow the senator.

"Padmé, you must get to safety immediatly!"

Padmé simply ignores him, and instead continues her frantic search.

Together Obi-Wan and Ahsoka reach forward, and they pull the woman to a stop. They each firmly grasp her arms so she cannot break away.

"Padmé!"

Obi-Wan says her name sternly. His fear and anxiety over the situation leak into his tone, and Padmé finally turns to look at him. She tugs at the Jedi's grasp, even though her efforts to free herself are futile.

"Let me go, Obi-Wan! I must find Anakin, before he hurts anyone else!"

There is determination in the young woman's tone, and a set stubborness that shows she will not be swayed.

Obi-Wan desperately tries to get her to understand reason.

"Padme, he isn't Anakin anymore! Something has happened inside him. . .the darkness has taken over. He isn't the man you once knew!"

Padmé desperately shakes her head, and tears spring from her eyes. She once more jerks her arms against the Jedi's grasps, but they refuse to let go.

"You're lying!" she says desperately. Tears stain her cheeks, and her eyes are rimmed with red.

"He is not, Padmé!" Ahsoka says quickly, her voice urgent with the need to get the senator to understand.

"Padmé-," Obi-Wan begins once more, his tone showing he is about to attempt to reason with her once more.

But he doesn't get a chance.

Because at that moment, the sound of clashing lightsabers fills the air. The dull hum of the blades appears to be coming from. . .just around the corner.

Padmé's eyes snap to the source of the noise, and she frantically redoubles her efforts to free herself.

But Obi-Wan and Ahsoka hold fast.

Obi-Wan tugs on the senator's arm, with the full intention of pulling her back to safety, when he hears it.

The scream is one of pure pain, and it punctuates the air. The sound makes Obi-Wan's skin prickle and he shivers at a sudden rush of cold.

In his momentary distraction, Padmé manages to break free.

She jerks her arms from the two Jedi's grasps, and she flings herself forward.

Right towards the place where the almost inhuman shriek just erupted from.

Ahsoka and Obi-Wan lunge after her, desperate to stop her.

But they are too late.

**. x • X • x .**

_(a few moments earlier)_

Windu retreats a few more steps as Anakin's attack intensifies.

The younger man's flurry of vicious blows seems endless, and he hasn't even shown the slightest signs of tiring.

Windu feels outmatched.

This is obviously not the Anakin Skywalker he knows. This man attacks with a vicious ferocity unbefitting any Jedi.

He fights like a Sith.

_And, it seems to be working for him_, Windu thinks to himself as he blocks another blow.

Windu draws back a few steps more as Anakin pushes forward with measured intensity.

Suddenly, several new presences register as Windu enters a new hallway. He struggles to keep his focus on the fight as this new distraction appears.

He senses Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and some third person. This stranger appears to be. . .

_Senator Amidala?_

Windu pays for his lack of focus a moment later when a well aimed strike nearly takes off his head. He barely is able to deflect it in time.

As Anakin strikes forward once more, Windu is forced to retreat even further back. The older Jedi decides his best approach will be to speak to the young man.

Windu doesn't like the direction that this fight is going in, and it is possible that Anakin is not yet beyond reason.

Somehow Windu finds this very unlikely.

"Anakin, what could you possible gain from this. . .madness?" he asks, and he struggles to speak as Anakin rains several blows in rapid succession, "why would you do this?"

Anakin appears to have no such problems talking.

"Revenge," Anakin snarls, "the Sith will rise once more."

Windu shivers at his words. The darkness rolls off of Anakin in waves, and it surrounds Windu. It closes in on him, almost making it difficult to breathe.

Maybe he's just sitting tired.

"The Sith will not rise again," Windu snaps back, "and if you choose to fight along side them, then with them you will fall."

Anakin growls at his words, and a new fire fills the young man's eyes.

Unexpectedly, he suddenly draws back.

Anakin takes several steps back, and he simply stands in observation. A look of almost. . .contemplation crosses the young man's face.

Windu watches him warily, and he holds his saber poised and ready for attack.

Several long moments pass, and Anakin doesn't move. He simply watches the Jedi before him. It is almost as if he is searching the man before him for something. The seconds grow longer.

Then, the ghost of a smile appears on Anakin's lips.

Windu barely manges to bring his blade up in time to deflect Anakin's falling saber. The younger man moved so quickly Windu was only barely able to defend himself.

Windu struggles to keep his blade steady as Anakin forces his down. He tries to keep his focus on the blade threatening his head.

So, he misses the other danger. The force warns him too late of the threat.

Anakin's foot lashes out, and it smashes against Windu's chest. The Jedi stumbles back, and he struggles to block Anakin's lightsaber as it crashes down.

But Windu is momentarily stunned, and Anakin easily knocks the older Jedi's lightsaber away. It clatters across the floor, and it disappears out of sight.

Before Windu can even think of calling his lightsaber back, Anakin's lightsaber falls down once more.

Windu raises his hand up, in an attempt to somehow block the blade from slicing through him. At the same time he tries to throw himself back.

A moment later he feels an intense burning feeling. It is greater than any pain he has ever felt before.

He screams, and he struggles to focus on the pain centering around his wrist.

With his uninjured hand he searches out the appendage, and he carefully checks for damage.

His fingers find nothing but air.

**. x • X • x .**

Padmé races forward. Somehow she manages to stay just ahead of the two Jedi behind her, even in her current state.

Even though she is not force-sensitive she can feel the waves of darkness that lie just around the corner. She knows that the Jedi must feel it even more intensely, and this makes it difficult for them to focus.

She knows that the two are too stunned right now to go to the normal extremes to detain her.

This fact does nothing but make her fear grow.

_It is only Anakin_, Padmé thinks to herself_, he won't hurt me. . . _

But she knows it is not only her own safety that worries her. It is her child that she worries for.

But Padmé knows that she must reach Anakin.

She must. Before it is too late.

Padmé races forward, and she reaches the corner. She hurries around it without a second thought.

When she rounds the bend, a scene of horror meets her eyes, and she freezes.

"No. . ."

Anakin's head snaps up at her whispered exclamation, and his eyes quickly find hers.

Padmé's gaze meets that of a stranger's.

Gone are the brilliant blue eyes she loves to much. Now his gaze is like molten lava. It shimmers with barely suppressed rage.

Anakin's arm is raised, an unfamiliar green lightsaber grasped in his flesh hand.

It is simply waiting to fall.

Padmé's gaze slowly trails to the man at Anakin's feet. It takes her a few moments to recognize the fallen figure as Mace Windu. The man grasps his wrist carefully.

A moment later Padmé sees the severed hand lying only a few feet away.

"Anakin," she says, and her voice breaks on the word. Her tone betrays her fear, her confusion.

Her pain.

"Padmé," Anakin says in reply, and he sounds almost confused.

With a wave of his hand, Anakin sends Windu flying to the side. The Jedi hits the wall hard, and he crumples limply to the ground.

Padmé knows not whether he still lives.

"Padmé, what are you doing here?"

Anakin's voice is laced with concern, and as she watches. . some of the gold fades from his eyes. She sees a glimpse of the man she loves.

Anakin takes a step towards her, and he reaches his hand out, almost as though to beckon her forward.

It is then that Ahsoka and Obi-Wan make their appearance.

The two Jedi rush around the corner, lightsabers ready. They immediately freeze when they see the lifeless form o Mace Windu, and they hurry to stand next to Padmé.

They take protective stances at her side, ready to defend her from the current danger.

Anakin.

The sudden rush of fury that suddenly washes over Anakin is so powerful, Padmé doesn't have to be force-sensitive to feel it.

She slowly turns her gaze back to Anakin.

He is no longer her husband. Any traces of that man are gone now, replaced by the stranger. Even the slight glimpse she saw only moments earlier has been washed away.

She does not recognize this man, even though he is in her husband's body.

This new man growls slightly, and Padmé shivers slightly as his hate-filled gaze lands on her.

"Traitor," he hisses, "you would have the Jedi kill me."

Padmé's eyes widen, and her mouth forms an o of shock. She struggles to find words, to deny his claim.

The threat of danger rushes around her. She slips a hand inside her cloak to place upon her stomach. This brings her only a small bit of comfort.

This small action only reminds her of the true danger. If anything were to happen to the child.

_No, _Padmé assures herself, _Anakin would never. . ._

Padmé hurries to deny his claims.

"No, Anakin, no," Padmé says, and her voice trembles, "Anakin, they want to help you!"

Anakin snarls, and he restlessly begins to pace. His golden eyes never leave hers.

_"Liar." _

He practically spits the word, almost as though it is a curse.

Padmé resists the urge to run away from this stranger. Danger wraps around her, warning her that nothing good is to come.

Still she presses on.

"Anakin, please," Padmé begs, and tears prick at her eyes, "Obi-Wan explained things to me. You don't-."

Anakin doesn't let her finish.

"I don't want to hear about Obi-Wan!" he snaps, and he sends a gaze of pure fury towards his old mentor. Padmé senses the man shift uneasily beside her.

Padmé tries one last time to reason with Anakin.

"Anakin, please. I. . .I love you," Padmé says, and her voice breaks, "you're breaking my heart!"

A sharp intake of breath on either side if her alerts the young woman of the surprise that forms at her proclamation.

Padmé has lost the will to care.

"Stop talking," Anakin snaps back. his glowing eyes seem to shine even brighter as his fury grows.

Padmé shakes her head sharply. Tears stream down her cheeks, and they fall to the ground below.

"Anakin, come back to me. Please," Padmé begs, her tone shaky.

Anakin snarls once more, and he struggles to spit out his next words.

"Anakin is dead."

Padmé's eyes widen, and her mouth lets out a cry of anguish.

She takes a step back, as though to distance herself from him. Obi-Wan takes this chance to try and shield the woman, to step in front of her.

This is a wrong move.

Anakin snarls, and his fury spikes. In this moment, where he sees his wife back away, he snaps.

"Traitor," he hisses, and Padmé immediately catches the dangerous tone in his voice.

She tries to take a step towards him, but it is too late. She tries to speak one last time.

"Anakin, no-."

But her words are cut off.

Instead of speech, her strangled gasps fill the air.

Her hands fly to her throat, as if to pry off the invisible fingers constricting her throat. But she can do nothing to stop this iron grip from crushing her neck.

_No._

**. x • X • x .**

**Yeah, this is a pretty bad cliff hangar. (Don't hate me!)**

**Things probably aren't going to get better for awhile.**

**Please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Warning: Stuff is still pretty dark in gloomy, as usual.**

**Enjoy!**

**. x • X • x .**

Padmé's hands fly to her throat, but she is unable to pry away the unseen grip that encircles her neck.

"Anakin. . ." She gasps. Her voice is quickly cut off.

She is unable to say any more.

Her vision quickly begins to fill with black spots. Her eyes blur and swim.

But there is one thing that she can see clearly.

Anakin's burning golden eyes. They glow with hatred and fury.

And it is all directed at her.

She doesn't recognize this man. her husband is dead, consumed by this stranger.

Distantly she hears a sharp cry, vaguely she can make out words.

_"Drop her, Anakin! You're killing her!"_

She is too far gone to care. She only has one regret.

_My child! My child. . ._

Her child is dying at the hands of her husband.

_Why Anakin?_

Padmé's mind spins, and she distantly realizes that the hold on her neck has been released.

As her vision finally begins to fade, all she can see is blue. Blue swims above her.

Then she knows nothing.

**. x • X • x .**

"No!"

Anakin's harsh cry rips from his throat as he cradles Padmé's frail form. Tears stream down his face, and they spatter against her pale skin.

Anakin searches for a sign of life, a sign that he hadn't gone too far. . .

He heaves a sigh of relief as he senses her heart flutter weakly, as he sees her draw a frail breath.

Quickly though, his relief is flooded with anger and hate.

All pointed at himself.

_Why? Why had he lost control? Why had he attacked Padmé?. . ._

"Anakin, step away from her."

The voice is stern and commanding, but it holds a trace of fear.

With a snarl Anakin turns to face this figure. Obi-Wan's face swims into view.

Quickly he finds a new target for these emotions flooding through him. The darkness inside him latches onto this new reason.

_Of course Padmé's death isn't his fault. The fault lies with. . ._

"Obi-Wan," Anakin hisses, and the name sounds like a curse on his lips.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan says quietly in reply. The man holds his hands out cautiously, almost as if he is dealing with a feral animal, one that could attack at the slightest sign of danger.

Anakin grimly muses that this is right.

Vaguely Anakin notices Ahsoka standing behind Obi-Wan. She watches him with a look of pure horror, a look that he hates.

It is almost as though she is seeing him in a completely new light.

The darkness inside him hates her for this. It wants to destroy this look of mixed pity and horror.

It wants to destroy her.

_No_, Anakin thinks to himself, _this is about Obi-Wan. Not Ahsoka._

Despite what the darkness tells him he cannot bring himself to kill Ahsoka.

He cannot destroy the girl that to him is like a sister, sometimes even a daughter.

With a snarl Anakin turns his attention back to his old master. He lets his fury race through him. His dark emotions bring him focus, and power.

"This is your fault," Anakin hisses.

Obi-Wan stares at him in obvious shock.

"Anakin, you did this," Obi-Wan snaps back.

With a snarl Anakin throws his hand forward. A moment later Obi-Wan is suspended in the air, much like he was only days earlier.

The man gasps as the pressure on his neck increases. As Anakin's power wraps around him he is unable to do anything to save himself.

This time Anakin will finish the job.

Ahsoka tries to race forward to help the older Jedi, but Anakin throws her back with a simple flick of his wrist. The full power of the force flows through him in a way that has never happened before.

He is the force. He is the dark side.

Obi-Wan's choked gasps fill the air, but quickly they are growing weaker. His time is quickly running out.

Anakin sneers at his master weakness, at his quick defeat. The older man barely puts up a struggle.

Suddenly though, Anakin's attention is jerked from this when he feels Padmé shift in his arms. A slight moan escapes from her lips.

Anakin tries to ignore this, to focus on the task of killing the Jedi before him.

Them Padmé speaks, her voice soft and weak. It is barely a murmur, but Anakin can clearly hear her words.

_"No. . .Anakin. . .please no. . ."_

Anakin gaze falls down and he stares at her for a long moment. His mind suddenly catches on the smallest details, things he didn't notice before.

Anakin is so intent in his observation he doesn't even notice that his hold on Obi-Wan has dropped.

Anakin is too busy staring at his wife in disbelief.

Slowly, his hand trembling, he allows his fingers to alight on her stomach. He feels a flutter of the life inside.

And with that the darkness' power over him snaps. For a moment it retreats, and simply waits in the distance.

"No. . ." Anakin mutters, a new horror overtaking him.

He stares down at Padmé. Unable to do anything, to say anything else.

_No._

With trembling hands Anakin slides Padmé off of his lap and onto the ground.

He quickly pushes himself to his feet, and he backs up. He tries to put as much distance between himself and the scattered bodies as he can.

His hands are raised almost defensively, as though to ward off the sights that bombard his eyes.

_What have I done?_

Anakin's thoughts are interrupted when he hears a shout. It is a cry of horror, of disbelief

It reflects his emotions perfectly.

His gaze flies up, and he is met with a small crowd. Instantly familiar faces leap to him. Those he doesn't recognize blur together, until they are indistinguishable.

_Shaak Ti. Aayla Secura. A bandaged Ki Adi Mundi. Yoda._

And several others. About a dozen in all.

The darkness inside him rages up, and it threatens to make an appearance. It wants him to fight, to slay these Jedi.

Somehow Anakin manages to fight the darkness away. A splitting headache immediately strikes his head, but Anakin finds himself quickly numbing to the pain.

His horror makes this minor pain seem so very insignificant.

Anakin can only watch as the gazes of the group trail from the scattered bodies to him.

Their gazes come with a mixture of emotions. Anakin is helpless but to feel each one as it is leveled at him.

_Hate. Horror. Fear. Confusion. Anger. Loathing._

And he always thought the Jedi were emotionless. That they didn't have feelings.

With a flash suddenly twelve lightsabers spark to light. A swirl of different colors fills Anakin's vision as the blades are lifted into defensive positions.

He makes no move to draw his own blade.

In fact, even more horror fills him as he remembers how he acquired his stolen saber . . .

With a harsh clatter the saber bounces across the ground.

The Jedi watch in obvious shock. Anakin slowly pulls his hand back. He resists the urge to wipe his hands off on his clothes. To did his hands of the touch of the blade.

Because that will not help.

That will do nothing to clear away the blood that marks his hands.

Anakin stumbles back slightly. All he wants is to put distance between himself and his sins.

His steps quickly become faster. In a flash he turns around, and is racing towards the exit. He just wants to get _away._

"Stop!"

The call bounces off the walls, and Anakin almost answers the command.

But he knows that if he stays, only death will follow. The darkness will arise inside of him.

It cannot be contained.

He will slay the Jedi. Eventually they might contain or kill him, but not before many of them fall.

Anakin races on.

Despite the calls that ring out behind him, Anakin hears no signs of pursuit.

Anakin meets no other Jedi on his way out. Surely the temple is on some sort of lockdown.

Soon he reaches the temples entrance.

Moments later he has disappeared into the city.

**. x • X • x .**

Shaak Ti can only watch as the numerous bodies are carried away on stretchers.

The victims of Anakin's escape are many. Several Jedi were severely wounded, and are in need or critical care.

And some breathed their last breaths.

Vaguely Shaak Ti senses Yoda as he joins her. She can easily sense his mixed fear, mourning, and worry. These emotions reflect much of what she is feeling.

"How could this happen?" Shaak Ti murmurs. She struggles to not avert her gaze as the body of another Jedi is brought up from the lower levels where Anakin and been held.

"Know that, I do not," Yoda mutters, and his tone is marked with deep weariness and pain.

Silence falls, and it hangs for several moments before the togruta decides to speak again.

"Why didn't you let us go after him?" Shaak Ti asks softly, and confusion fills her at the memory.

As Anakin had turned and ran, several of the Jedi (herself included) had started after him.

Yoda had quickly called them back.

The old master is quiet for several moments, almost as though he is pondering her question. Finally he speaks.

"Enough blood has been spilled," Yoda says wearily, and his voice trembles, "if gone after Skywalker you had. . .not sure am I how many of you would have returned."

Shaak Ti doesn't reply to this grim statement. Instead the two masters stand in silence as the final bodies are carted away.

A moment later a young padawan races up, and the two master's attentions shift to the child.

"Master Vokara says you are needed immediately at the healers wing," the young one says quickly.

Shaak Ti frowns at his words, but it is Yoda who speaks.

"Give you a reason, did she?" the old master asks.

The child nods quickly before launching into an explanation.

"It's about Senator Amdiala, something urgent," the child says.

Both of the Jedi masters exchange a glance. The same question passes through both of them.

_What exactly was the young senator doing here?_

**. x • X • x .**

**Okay, so please review!**

**There is some hope for Anakin. . .maybe.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, please enjoy! Thanks for all the reads & reviews!**

**. x • X • x .**

Shaak Ti and Yoda enter the healer's wing. The older master's hover chair floats silently beside the togruta master.

They follow the young padawan boy that had been sent to fetch them. He leads them though the extensive healer's wing, towards the quieter rooms located at the back.

These rooms offer more privacy to patients who will be staying for longer terms. This fact is not lost on the two masters.

Healer Vokara meets them outside the door of one of the last rooms. Her anxiousness and uncertainty are quite evident to her fellow Jedi.

The blue skinned twi-lek dismisses the young helper, and she waits until he has disappeared around the corner before she turns to speak to Yoda and Shaak Ti.

"I called you here concerning a. . .matter with the Senator Amidala," the healer says, stating the obvious.

"Yes, is something wrong?" Shaak Ti asks, and worry laces her features.

Vokara Che bites her lip, and a slight blush touches her blue skin.

"I believe she will be fine," the healer says, sounding almost nervously she speaks, "but you must understand. ..I do not deal with cases like this often. Not with Jedi. . ."

The two Jedi give her looks of confusion, and Vokara shakes her head.

"It's better if I just show you. . ."

The twi-lek pushes the door open, and she leads Yoda and Shaak Ti into the small room. All gazes immediate fall on the young woman laying on the bed.

Shaak Ti immediately hones in on the. . .problem.

The heavy robe and dress that the senator had been wearing earlier have been removed, and she is now dressed only in a thin hospital gown.

This attire easily reveals the young woman's. . .condition.

Shaak Ti feels the faint life force of the unborn child, and she is surprised she didn't sense it earlier. What with all the. . .confusion earlier it must have slipped her mind.

"Ahh," Yoda says, and understanding flashes on the old master's face, "more pieces to the puzzle, does this add."

Vokara turns to face the grand master, and she frowns.

"Puzzle?" she asks in confusion, not understanding how that relates to the patient under her care.

"Yes," the old Jedi says, and his smile is one of grim amusement, "puzzling it is, why Senator Amidala was here. . ."

**. x • X • x .**

Obi-Wan's eyes slowly slide open, and he immediately winces at the sudden flash of light that attacks his eyes.

A moment passes before the pain sets in.

The physical pain is somehow not as bad as the first time he was strangled moments from death. Maybe because he has felt this before, he already knows what to expect.

It is the emotional pain that strikes Obi-Wan hard, that feels like someone has dropped a bantha on his chest.

Every breath is painful, and strangled as struggles to keep from sobbing. It takes all of Obi-Wan's control to keep himself from rolling into fetal position and losing it.

Anakin is gone. . .

It isn't like before, when he could sense the harried emotions of light and dark rolling off of his former padawan.

Now, Obi-Wan feels as though every tie they have ever had. . .has been severed. When he reaches out he can only feel the vaguest sense of darkness, and it is powerful and thick.

Anakin Skywalker is dead.

Obi-Wan closes his eyes, partially to hide them from the blinding light and partially in the hopes that he might wake up.

That somehow this will all turn out to be a dream, some terrible nightmare.

A tear manages to slip by Obi-Wan's defenses, and it rolls down his cheek.

_I loved you Anakin. You were like a brother to me. . .my best friend._

Silently, Obi-Wan mourns the loss of his friend.

Several healers come in to check on him, but every time he feigns sleep. Even though he knows the trick doesn't work on a single Jedi, they leave him be.

He just wants to be alone right now.

Even though his mind tries to suppress his memories, somehow they manage to get through.

_Anakin standing before them. . .the invisible grip at his throat. . .Ahsoka being thrown aside._

_And then. . .Padmé._

Obi-Wan pauses at this, and his mis flits back to the memories concerning the young senator. Specifically something Padmé said to Anakin. . .

_"Anakin, please. I. . .I love you," Padmé says, and her voice breaks, "you're breaking my heart!"_

Obi-Wan's eyes snaps open at this, and he quickly forgets any thoughts of feigning sleep. Because another certain fact rings in his mind. . .

Something he noticed about Padmé, before the sirens went off.

Obi-Wan's eyes widen as the pieces click together, and his mouth falls open in shock.

_Oh, Anakin. . .what have you done?_

**. x • X • x .**

Anakin moves forward through the lower levels of Coruscant's streets. His steps are sure, and he moves with purpose. His final destination is clear in his mind, as clear as the darkness guiding him to it.

As Anakin walks, the crowded streets quickly part before him.

He feels fear radiating off of these low life's as they behold the mysterious cloaked figure.

They don't know what lies in the shadows of his cloak, but they can feel the darkness pouring off of him. They know to fear it, to cower before him.

This darkness overtook Anakin only hours after he fled he temple.

Now the darkness is uncontested for control of Anakin's mind. Whatever light once resided within him has faded away or is locked up tightly, deep inside him.

He is darkness now.

Anakin continues on his path trough these lower levels, and the darkness tells him which turns to take. For the first time in many days, the darkness actually speaks to him.

_Yes. . .closer. . .almost there. . . _

He can feel the mad glee that radiates from this unknown force, this figure who summons him forward.

Anakin only obeys his commands.

Finally Anakin reaches a shabby and abandoned warehouse. The glass in many of its windows has been broken, and various signs of decay have tarted to appear on the worn structure.

The darkness radiates from inside.

As silent as a shadow, Anakin makes his way inside the building.

He boldly makes his way to the center of the large room, and he falls into a kneeling position on the ground. Where ever he happens to touch the floor, clouds of dust immediately spin up in the air.

Anakin slides his cloak back from his head, and he stretches his senses out. He immerses himself in the force.

He waits.

He keeps his head bowed in a sign of reverence, and his eyes are down cast. He keeps his gaze on the swirling clouds of dust as they slowly settle back on the floor.

Anakin can feel the darkness as it circles him slowly. It watches him carefully, observing him in a fashion that would seem unnerving to most.

But, of course, Anakin cares not for that anymore. Things that used do bother him just. . .don't now.

Because he isn't Anakin Skywalker anymore. Faithful Jedi, loyal friend, loving husband.

Soon to be father.

The darkness quickly strikes out at him, and these thoughts fade away. Only a dull ache is left behind.

Slowly, the darkness approaches. It comes nearer, until this unknown figure hovers just above Anakin.

Several long moments pass, before the man speaks.

"Look at me," the man hisses. It is clearly a command, and Anakin finds himself obeying without hesitation.

Slowly his head tilts towards the figure. He manages to take in several details at once.

The man is cloaked, his face hidden in the shadows, but Anakin easily recognizes him. This man who hides his darkness in plain sight, who keeps his true nature concealed from all. . .

Darth Sidious.

The Sith observes him for several long moments. Anakin is careful not to move, and he stares unblinkingly at the powerful man before him.

"Speak," the man finally says, and Anakin replies without hesitation. He already knows what words the man wants to hear.

"I am here to pledge myself to your teachings," Anakin says, and though his voice is mechanical and devoid of emotion, for some reasons the words leave a slightly bitter taste in his mouth.

"Good," Sidious hisses, obviously pleased.

"I am your loyal servant, master," Anakin finishes. He resists the urge to heave a sigh now that the words have finally left him.

Some of the oppressive weight that was settled in his chest has finally faded now that he completed the darkness' will.

"From here on, Anakin Skywalker is dead," the man snarls, and he bites out the name like it is a curse.

Anakin stares up at the man, passively awaiting his next words.

"Now you shall be known as Darth. . .Vader," Sidious says, and Anakin can see the barest traces of a twisted smile in the shadows of his cloak, "rise my apprentice."

Darth Vader slowly rises before his master. He stands calmly before Sidious, awaiting his first orders.

"Sadly there is one. . .small bit of business to attend to before we can truly begin your training," he master says cooly, and his words drip like poison, "I'm sure you remember my old apprentice, Count Dooku?"

In response Vader's metal hand forms a tight fist. Raw fury immediately floods him, and his golden eyes glint with a dark light.

"Yes," he hisses with barely suppressed rage.

At his apprentice's obvious anger, Sidious cackles madly.

"I believe it's time to get you two properly acquainted. Would you like that, Vader?" Sidious hisses to his new apprentice.

"Yes, master," Vader says simply in reply.

The newly minted Vader wraps his fury around him, and he focuses on this power. From this he gains strength.

Darth Sidious' mad cackles of glee ring out into the night.

**. x • X • x .**

**Yeah, I'm sorry Padmé didn't give birth. . .I know a lot of reviews stated that people thought that was going to happen.**

**Sorry. I've till got stuff planned that needs to happen before he twins make their appearance.**

**Also, someone mentioned that Anakin's fall was unrealistic in this chapter. Just to clear that up: he is not in control of his actions right now. The darkness has taken over**

**So now Darth Vader is here. . .yay, happy times.**

**Okay, please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry for the kinda late update. This is the first time I have been able to write in awhile. . . I have had no free time all week.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**. x • X • x .**

Ahsoka stares down at Padmé's sleeping form. Ahoska can do nothing but stare, as she is still trying to understand.

Her mind tries to tell her the truth, but she just. . . It can't be true.

Can it?

Her master has never been a strict follower of the code before. . .and he always has had a close relationship with Senator Amidala. . .

But to have a child. . .

Ahsoka's thoughts are interrupted by many masters entering the room. She straightens, unsure whether she should stay or go. Obi-Wan quickly motions for her to remain put.

Ahsoka takes a moment to observe the new visitors as she slides beside Obi-Wan. It appears as though the entire council is here.

Including Mace Windu, who is sporting a new metallic hand. The contraption is not as detailed as the one Anakin was given, perhaps due to the rushed nature in which in was required.

A wave of nausea washes through Ahsoka as she remembers. . .

_The lightsaber rolling across the floor. . .the severed hand laying only a few feet away. . ._

"Called us here for a reason you have?" Yoda asks Obi-Wan, "concerning the young senator?"

Obi-Wan slowly nods. The man appears tired, beyond the point of exhaustion. Dark circles ring his eyes, and he is deathly pale.

_He's probably been having the nightmares too, _Ahsoka thinks to herself.

Nightmares that are actually memories.

Memories that haunt Ahsoka, even when she wakes.

"Yes," Obi-Wan says, and his voice is barely above a whisper. Even more damage was done to his throat and vocal chords than when he was strangled the first time.

This time Anakin almost completed his job.

"I suppose this has to do with her appearance at the temple?" Shaak Ti asks, and Obi-Wan nods.

"It also has to do with her sudden. . .condition," Obi-Wan says, "the answers are one in the same."

Confused looks are passed around the room. None seem to quite understand his meaning.

"Explain," Windu says.

Obi-Wan takes a long breath, partially to prepare himself for the difficult task of speaking, but also to prepare himself for the news he is about to share.

"Anakin," he says simply.

There is a long pause, before understanding suddenly flashes.

With this comes looks of outrage, and fear. Confusion and mistrust.

"You mean that she carries his child?" Ki Adi Mundi asks for final clarification. Obi-Wan nods slightly in reply.

Murmurs rage throughout the room, but Ahsoka is oblivious to this. Her mind spins with her own thoughts. Her suspicions have been confirmed, but he still finds the truth hard to believe.

_Anakin?. . .a father?_

_How could I not know this?_

**. x • X • x .**

Count Dooku walks briskly through the halls of his manor.

He received the message only a few hours earlier, and he had rushed back to his home planet immediately. His current mission was immediately abandoned.

His master had come to his home.

Without warning, other than a simple alert as he entered the planet's atmosphere and a request for Dooku's presence. Dooku had to rush back to his home in the hopes that he would arrive before the older Sith.

But, Dooku already knows that he has arrived too late. He can sense his master's startling presence in the main room. Dooku also picks up on another presence.

Someone accompanies his master, someone hidden.

The presence is clouded, so that Dooku is unable to figure out who it is exactly. All he senses is a vague. . .familiarness.

He knows this stranger.

Dooku pushes open the doors with a simple nudge from the force, and he enters the vast chamber.

At the end of his hall sits his master. His cloak is pulled up to shade his face, but Dooku can see the traces of a twisted smile on the man's lips.

Fear begins to form in the Count's heart at this sight. Already the Sith apprentice knows that nothing good is to come.

To Sidious' side stands another cloaked figure. This man stands tall and proud.

Dark energy swirls around this unknown figure, and despite himself. . .Dooku feels fear.

Something about this figure. . .doesn't seem right. Without even trying, he somehow sends off an aura of danger.

Even though this man stands in nearly complete shadow, Dooku feels a sense of foreboding as he observes this new figure.

Dooku can't help but wonder why his master brought him here. He questions the identity of this stranger, this man who seems familiar yet completely unknown.

This man who scares him, though Dooku would never admit this.

"Ah, Count Dooku," Sidious says, his voice a low growl.

Dooku comes to stand before his master, and he quickly drops into a kneeling position.

"Master," Dooku says, his tone blank and devoid of emotion as he speaks.

"Rise," his master says with a casual wave of his hand.

Dooku gracefully rises, and he stands before his master. He waits patiently for Sidious to speak. One of the first lessons he leaned from his Sith teacher was not to speak out of turn.

"I suppose you are wondering why I decided to pay you a visit," Sidious says slowly, drawing out the wait, "you see, there is someone that I simply can't wait for you to meet."

Obviously this visitor is the stranger. Dooku is starting to get unnerved by the fact that the man's face is hidden from him.

"I suppose this is the mysterious someone," Dooku asks, and he struggles to keep the tone of annoyance from his voice.

He hates the games his master insists on playing, games intended to make him slip up and lose patience.

Sidious chuckles lightly before speaking.

"Ah yes. I am pleased for you to meet this new pupil of mine," Sidious says darkly, "his name is. . .Darth Vader."

A chill runs up Dooku's spine at the name, one so blatantly Sith. A feeling of dark premonition tickles at the corners of Dooku's mind, a subtle warning of something to come. . .

But Dooku is too distracted by his master's words to focus on this minor feeling.

_New pupil_. . .The words easily translate to a deeper meaning.

New apprentice.

Dooku struggles to keep his hand from slipping to his lightsaber. He already suspects what is to come, as he has had a few suspicions of this for awhile.

The time for his replacement has come.

Dooku struggles to keep his tone level as he speaks.

"Is this new pupil shy?" Dooku asks casually, "or is he hideously scarred to hide his face?"

A wicked smile curves at Sidious' lips, but it is not him who speaks. A new voice echoes through the chamber.

"Only slightly scarred. . .but I think it makes me look rather dashing."

The tone drips with smooth mockery and lingering darkness. Dooku can't help but feel familiar as he hears it, he has heard this voice before.

"Vader, play nice," Sidious chides in an almost amused tone. He then motions for Vader to step forward.

With an almost exasperated sigh, the new Sith steps forward from the shadows. The light casts his shrouded features in an even harsher light, but Dooku has a clear sight as the man moves to remove his hood.

As the cloth is thrown back, Dooku's immediate reaction is shock. It takes him several moments to recover from his initial surprise, and even then. . .

It is just impossible.

Anakin Skywalker. The loyal Jedi, the republic's "_Hero With No Fear."_

For a moment, Dooku thinks that this is a joke, or some force induced dream. It just too impossible. How is this Jedi simply standing there of free will, not restrained and certainly not attacking?

This is nothing like the Anakin Skywalker he knows.

Once Dooku's initial surprise dies down, he is able to get a slightly better look at the young man. Immediately new changes catch in his mind.

Skywalker (or Vader as he is now called) stands with a set of calm determination.

Though his presence was commanding before, now there is a tinge of danger surrounding his person. The dark side clings to him in a way that Dooku has never seen before.

The young man's face is twisted in an expression of vicious pleasure. He looks like a predator that has finally found their prey.

And his eyes. . .

They glow with golden light, the edges of the irises stained red.

The color of hatred, of anger. A symbol of a Sith.

Dooku's eyes rarely change in this way, and he has only seen his master's eyes glow with such hatred once.

But Vader. . .it is as though hatred makes up his very being.

Finally Count Dooku finds the will to speak.

"How. . .how is this possible?" Dooku asks, and his voice holds a slight shiver.

In response Vader grins, a vicious show of teeth. His eyes glint in an almost maddening way.

"The hour for explanations is over," Vader hisses, "your time is up, old man."

Dooku's eyes search for his master's, but Sidious' expression is hidden within the folds of his cloak. All that Dooku can make out is a twisted smile.

With a hiss, Dooku hears the familiar sound of a lightsaber being activated. A red glow appears in Dooku's vision.

Instinctively, Dooku's hand slips down to his own saber. A moment later the buzzing hum grows louder as his own blade hisses to life.

A warning sings through the force as, without hesitation, Vader strikes.

Dooku brings his saber up just in time, but he is pushed back by the force of the strike.

The two blades shove against each other for a few moments before their owners spin apart once more.

Harsh clashes ring out through the air as their blades meet. The two Sith weave through the room in a dance of expertise and skill.

After only a few minutes of fighting he comes to a sudden and important realization.

Darth Vader is quite different from Anakin Skywalker.

While Anakin is at times arrogant and reckless in his moves, he holds quite a bit of talent and skill.

His main flaw though, is the bottle of emotions he keeps locked away within him. Emotions he doesn't use to his advantage in a fight.

Darth Vader doesn't have this problem.

His emotions fuel him, he controls them and bends them to his will. They give him strength.

Vader's attacks are relentless, and he strikes with a ceaseless fury. His moves, while reckless in their own right, are calculated and effective.

Dooku believes he has found quite a match.

As they continue with their fight, Dooku begins to grow tired. Vader doesn't seem to have this problem. If anything, he seems to gain strength. His strikes hold even more power as he rains blows down on the older Sith.

It becomes harder for Dooku to keep up with the flurry of blows as they fall, and he finds himself pushed back.

It is only a matter of time before Dooku is overwhelmed.

His eyes widen, and his mouth falls open in shock as his lightsaber flies into the air.

A moment later the burning starts. It is greater than any pain he has ever felt before, and he immediately feels his loss.

As the fire spreads from his wrists to the rest of his body, Dooku can only stare in horror at his severed hands. All that remains now is the charred flesh of his wrists.

Dooku's eyes slide up, as if hoping to find some mercy in his attacker. Raw fear, greater than anything he has felt before, pulses through him in waves.

As he stares into those cold eyes of molten gold, he finds only gloating satisfaction. A twisted smirk curls at Vader's lips as he beholds the fallen Sith Lord.

"Beg."

The word is a simple hiss, but the meaning is clear.

Dooku stares up into the golden eyes, and there he finds no remorse. No feeling of any kind besides glowing hatred and a glimmer of satisfaction.

_"Please."_

The word slips between Dooku's lips before he can catch it. Immediatly he sees the glowing satisfaction on Vader's face.

The young Sith's laughter echoes throughout the room, and the golden eyes glint as they behold him.

A smile tugs at Vader's lips as he speaks. He seems quite amused with the situation.

"No."

The answer is a swift reply, and with it any trace of amusement disappears. In its place comes a deep sense of anger, hatred, and fury.

Suddenly Dooku wishes for death.

With a snap, both of the glowing red blades that are hovering at Dooku's neck disappear. Vader takes a slow step back from his prey.

Dooku in no way relaxes.

He knows something terrible is to come. The force screams to him the harsh warning.

But the warning comes to late.

Slowly, taking his time, Vader lifts one hand casually in the air.

"This is my revenge."

Dooku can only watch in horror as the glowing tendrils of electricity appear at the man's finger tips.

A moment later, the pain starts.

Dooku is not unaccustomed to being attacked in such a way. In fact, this is one of his master's favorite punishments.

But, unlike with his master's attacks, this one does not end.

Dooku can only scream as he feels the life drain from his body. He chokes on his own cries, on the scent of burning flesh that fills the air.

Dooku falls back to the ground, and he convulses as the pain continues. It goes on and on in ceases waves, until the darkness finally approaches.

Just as this darkness begins to tug at Dooku's mind, a single sight catches in Dooku's mind.

His eyes, blurred by the pain, fall on his master. The man has not moved a single inch since the fight first began.

As Dooku watches, his eyes are immediately drawn to the only part of his face that he can see.

As darkness claims Dooku, one thought remains in his mind.

The smile. The grin of a wolf.

It was not a sign of forced pleasure or simple amusement.

But one of pure joy.

Joy that he felt not at Dooku's death, but at Darth Vader's rise.

As the darkness claims Dooku, a sudden wave of relief falls over him. Now that the pain is growing distant, the calm washes over him.

Because Dooku now knows.

A new era is rising, and with it comes a new creature of darkness. A new pawn for Sidious to move around the board.

So, Dooku dies relieved.

For he will not have to live in the pain that is to come.

**. x • X • x .**

**Yeah, I kinda drew that death scene out. . .sorry for super dramatics. I love dramatics. . **

**Please review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**So sorry for the late update! Thank you for all of the reads and lovely reviews!**

**Enjoy! Not much action in this chapter, but hopefully that will be coming up soon.**

**. o * O * o .**

Padme's eyes slowly flutter open, and her gaze lazily trails her surroundings in an attempt to somehow guess where she is.

The sterile cleanliness of the room speaks of a medical ward, and with this deduction comes a wave of confusion.

_Why am I at the hospital?_ . . . Padme wonders dimly. Her mind is still fogged with sleep.

All too quickly though, the memories come crashing down. And as Padme remembers, she can't hope but long for the blissful confusion she felt only moments earlier.

Her eyes sting as the tears flow down her cheeks, and she bites her lip to keep from crying out.

Padme pulls herself into a tight ball, and her hand comes up to lightly brush her stomach.

In an instant, she is propping herself up, all sorrow and pain forgotten for the moment.

Padme slides her hand over her stomach worriedly, and after several moments pause she feels the flutter of life inside.

This only helps Padme to relax slightly, as she is still worried for the child's safety.

If Anakin had somehow hurt the child . . . Padme doesn't know if she would ever find the will to forgive him. Even if his actions were accidental.

Just as Padme is considering sliding from the bed to try and find someone, a young twi-lek woman walks into the room.

A Jedi. Which can only mean that Padme is still inside the temple.

The twi-lek, who Padme assumes is a healer, seems surprised to see that Padme is awake. The healer moves to stand further into the room, and she picks up a data pad from a nearby table.

"I see you are finally awake, Senator," the woman says smoothly, and Padme nods in reply.

"My name is Vokara Che," the healer says with a small smile,"do you mind if I ask you a few questions, just to see how you are doing?"

Padme nods again, before she hesitates slightly. Vokara notices her hesitation, because she turns from her data pad to face Padme.

"Is something wrong?" Vokara asks, and her voice holds a slight twinge of concern. It takes Padme a moment to find her voice, and when she does her words betray the anxiousness behind her question.

"The baby. Is . . . is the baby okay?" Padme asks softly, her voice hoarse from disuse.

Vokara relaxes slightly at this, and she gives Padme a reassuring smile.

"Both babies are fine," Vokara says, before turning back to her data pad, "now-."

But Padme interrupts her before she can speak again. She is quite sure that she misheard the healer, that in her dazed state she somehow mixed up the woman's words.

"Both?" Padme asks in confusion.

**. o * O * o .**

After a few more questions, most of which Padme finds that she is unable to answer, Vokara leaves her to rest.

Padme feels relief that she is being left, but the moment the healer leaves the rush of emotions from earlier crash back down on her. Vokara's presence offered a slight distraction from the stabs of pain that wracked her heart and mind, but now that Padme is alone she finds she is unable to fight off the feelings.

So, Padme once more curls up on her small bed. She wraps her arms protectively around her stomach, and she buries her head in her pillow as the tears fall.

_Why Anakin? Why?_

This question is repeated in Padme's mind over and over, it echoes in a constant loop.

Why?

A slight kick in her abdomen draws her out of her sorrows momentarily, and Padme mentally wills herself to calm down, if not for her then for the sake of her child.

No, children.

Despite the waves of pain that wash through her, Padme can't help but smile at this small point.

Twins.

**. o * O * o.**

"Learn anything from the senator Amidala, did you?" Yoda asks as Vokara moves to stand before the council.

Many in the chamber struggle to keep their eyes from trailing to the seats that are now empty, their owners never to return.

"As much as I could," Vokara says in reply, "at the moment her state is quite fragile. She is having some trouble dealing with what happened."

"You mean the fact that her . . . lover . . . tried to kill her and their unborn children?" Ki Adi Mundi says drily, and several nod in agreement.

"Yes, about that. . ." Vokara says, and she sighs slightly, "They were married."

This causes a wave of shock to rush through the council, and for once they are shocked to silence. After several moments of quiet, Yoda finally speaks.

"Married," Yoda muses grimly, "interesting this is."

As if a spell has been broken, the silence falling over the council shatters.

"Interesting?" Mace Windu says in a voice that betrays a measure of shock, "this is just another secret he has kept from us, another severe breaking of the code."

"How could we not see this? He was right in front of us this whole time!" Aayla Secura adds to Windu's words.

Several more Jedi express their outrage and horror at Skywalker's hidden crimes, and as more shout their opinions others find the will to speak their mind. Soon the only remaining in silence are Obi-Wan and Yoda, who are both staring out the window with distracted gazes, and Shaak Ti.

The togruta watches the fight with her own measure of mixed emotions. Finally, she feels that she has had enough.

She stands, and she slowly walks to the center of the room. Slowly, the arguments raging around her die down, and all attention is turned to her.

"Something to say, have you?" Yoda asks, and he slowly turns his gaze away from the window. Obi-Wan continues to stare out the glass pane, as if searching for something.

Shaak Ti nods slightly, and she turns to face the council.

"I simply wish to remind you of something," Shaak Ti says slowly, "no matter his past crimes or breaking of the code, at the moment Skywalker is out there. He has made his intentions towards the Jedi quite clear, and we should be prepared in case he returns."

"You believe he will return?" Ki Adi Mundi murmurs in disbelief, "he would be an idiot to do so."

"Most likely he will not be alone."

Everyone starts as Obi-Wan speaks, and all turn to face him. The human's gaze is still lingering on the horizon, and silence falls at his words. After several moments pause, Windu clears his throat to speak.

"What do you mean, Obi-Wan?" Windu asks softly.

Obi-Wan shakes his head slightly, before he slowly turns to face the rest of the council. The pain inside him is easily read on his face.

"There are other Sith in the galaxy," Obi-Wan says in a voice barely above a whisper, "specifically the ones who . . . who made him."

Silence falls on the council as this new realization sets in, and there is a moment's pause before anyone finds the bravery to speak.

"These Sith you speak of . . . do you mean the one we have been looking for? The one who is behind this war?" Aayla asks, and her voice echoes slightly in the chamber.

This time, it is master Yoda who speaks.

"Yes, this Sith it is," Yoda murmurs softly, "of that, sure we can be."

The old master closes his eyes for a moment, and after a long pause he nods as if confirming something.

"A ploy, this all was," Yoda mutters, and it seems almost as if he is speaking to himself.

"A ploy?" Windu asks, and his confusion is evident, "a ploy to accomplish what, master Yoda?"

Yoda sighs lightly, and a grim smile takes place on his features. When he speaks, his words echo through the hall, and they ring in the ears of the Jedi present.

"A ploy for the master to bring his apprentice home."

**. o * O * o .**

When the meeting dismisses, Obi-Wan slowly exits the chamber.

His mind still feels dazed, and everything around him feels unreal.

_I don't even know why I'm surprised anymore_; Obi-Wan thinks to himself, _the signs were all there . . . I was just too blind to see it._

Too blind to see that his best friend, his brother, was keeping so much secret.

Obi-Wan slowly shakes his head, and he slowly draws in a deep breath. He doesn't know why this small detail bothers him. In fact, it worries him more than the fact that Anakin may even now be under the command of his new Sith master.

Perhaps it is the fact that Anakin obviously didn't trust him.

Obi-Wan had always thought that they had had a fine relationship, that they had been able to trust each other with practically anything.

Obviously Obi-Wan was wrong.

**. o * O * o .**

"Padme . . . are you okay?"

Padme slowly turns around, and she is surprised to see Ahsoka perched nervously in the doorway. Padme hastily scrubs the remaining tears from her cheeks, and she sends the girl what she hopes is an at least partially convincing smile.

"Sorry, that was a stupid question," Ahsoka mutters before she can speak. The padawan enters the room, and after a wave from Padme she cautiously takes a seat on the edge of the bed.

"It's fine," Padme murmurs softly, "I know you must be feeling the same way."

Ahsoka bows her head slightly, and she takes a deep breath.

"Yeah," she mutters softly.

The pair sits in silence for several long moments, before Ahsoka finally speaks.

"If you don't mind me asking . . . what exactly was . . ."

She trails off before she can finish, obviously feeling awkward asking just what kind of relationship the senator had with her master. Padme smiles slightly before answering.

"He is my husband," Padme says softly in reply.

Ahsoka's eyes widen at this, and her mouth forms a slight o of shock.

"That's . . ." Ahsoka trails off slightly, before her look of shock is suddenly replaced with one of annoyance, "completely hypocritical of him."

Padme is surprised at her sudden change of mood and topic.

"What exactly do you mean?" Padme asks softly, and Ahsoka shakes her head.

"He gave me this big long speech about how attachments go against the Jedi code," Ahsoka mutters. Padme grins at her words, and this small show of happiness surprises her.

"That does sound like him," Padme says, and now it is Ahsoka's turn to smile.

"Of course!" Ahsoka exclaims, "you know his teaching method 'do as I say, not as I do.'"

This time, instead of just a smile, Padme actually manages a laugh. Ahsoka soon joins in.

Only a few moments later, the two are smiling and laughing, exchanging old stories and tales.

If only for a few minutes, the sorrow that had washed over each of the two is pushed away. For a few moments, they are able to forget.

It is only hours after Ahsoka has left, when most of the temple is asleep, that Padme finally realizes that this was the girls plan all along.

A genuine smile appears on Padme's lips at this thought, and she slowly closes her eyes.

_Thank you , Ahsoka_, she thinks to herself, _for making me forget the pain . . . and remember the joy._

_If only for a moment._

**. o * O * o .**

**So, because of school starting this week I will only be able to update one of my stories a day. Next update for this story should be in about five days.**

**Okay, so please review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Enjoy! I finally got a computer, so updates should be pretty steady now!**

**. o * O * o .**

"Track Skywalker down, we must," Yoda mutters, his voice grim, "before a greater threat, he becomes."

"Greater threat?" Ki Adi Mundi snorts, and his tone betrays more than a trace of disbelief. The master is still sporting injuries from Anakin's first, and failed, escape attempt.

"I agree with Master Mundi," Aayla Secura adds, "Skywalker has already proven to be more than a simple threat. If he were to come back to the temple. . .who knows what damage he would cause."

"Come back to the temple?" Saesee Tiin asks, and his tone sounds surprised, "would that not be suicidal of him?"

"He isn't exactly in his right mind," Aayla intones, and several nod. Grim looks are exchanged, and more than a few passing glances are thrown towards the empty seats in the council room.

Anakin has already proven his abilities enough to kill some of the highest trained Jedi in the order. If anything, the darkness that had consumed him has only made him stronger.

"I believe our main worry at the moment," Windu says slowly, "is not whether or not Skywalker will return. He will return, of that I am certain."

Several Jedi move to speak at this statement, but Windu continues on, not giving anyone a chance to voice their fears.

"Our main issue is one of even greater proportion and imminent danger," Windu says, and he pauses before continuing in his bold claims, "I believe he will try and meet up with his master."

Several looks of confusion are passed throughout the chamber at this new point.

"Master. . .as in the one who. . .created him?" Obi-Wan says softly, and many are surprised to hear the man speak.

Windu bows his head slightly in response, and he sighs before speaking again.

"I believe that this 'master' might be the Sith Lord we are looking for," Windu says slowly, "the one we have seen only traces of before."

Silence falls on the room as the Jedi mull over this new point. Several minutes pass before anyone finds the will to speak.

"Do you have any proof to aid these claims?" Ki Adi Mundi asks, and his voice is hesitant, "any proof that they might join together."

"Joined, they already have," Yoda says in answer, and many start at his sudden reply, "found his new apprentice, the Sith Lord has."

"New apprentice?" Aayla asks in confusion, "what about Dooku? Wasn't it thought that he was the Sith Lord apprentice?"

A long moment passes, in which Yoda and Windu exchange a glance. Instantly, the rest of the council is on edge, as they now know that there is something these two masters are keeping hidden.

"Found dead in his home, Dooku was," Yoda says softly, "killed by electrocution he was."

"And his hands were severed from the wrists," Windu intones, "the marks could only have been done by a lightsaber."

Many of the Jedi present seem disturbed by this harsh death.

"Killing Dooku is a sign that Skywalker is taking his place as the apprentice," Windu adds after a long moment, "the rule of two runs strong amidst the Sith."

"So, we are no longer dealing with just Skywalker turned to the dark side?" Shaak Ti asks softly, "he is now a Sith?"

Yoda and Windu nod grimly in answer.

**. o * O * o .**

_(One Hour Later)_

"Obi-Wan," Padme says, and a small smile crosses her face as she sees the Jedi hesitating in the doorway, "please, come in."

Obi-Wan lingers in the doorway for a moment longer before he comes and takes a seat in the vacant chair beside her bed.

"How are you doing?" Padme asks softly, as the older man takes a seat.

At her word's Obi-Wan gently shakes his head, and a smile of grim amusement flickers across his face.

"I should be the one asking you that," Obi-Wan says quietly, and Padme sighs in response. She hesitates for only a moment to collect herself before she speaks.

"I believe we are both at an understanding when it comes to this," Padme says softly, "I know you feel the pain of. . .this. . .in the same way that I do."

Obi-Wan nods, and he sighs before speaking.

"Let's move past pleasantries then," Obi-Wan says.

"Agreed," Padme says firmly, "I'm sure you have. . .questions."

Obi-Wan laughs at this great understatement, and he shakes his head.

"More than a few," Obi-Wan says, "but I'll start with the first. How long have you two. . .been together?"

Padme smiles slightly at this, and her expression holds one of bittersweet remembrance.

"Three years," Padme says softly, "we were married right at the beginning of the war."

Obi-Wan's eyes widen at this, and his surprise is quite clear.

"Married?" he says, and his voice holds disbelief, "for three years? How. . .how could I not have known?"

Padme shrugs slightly, and she pauses before responding.

"We were very careful," she says simply in reply.

"I'll say," Obi-Wan mutters.

**. o * O * o .**

Darth Vader slowly follows his master down the hall of the ship. The two walk through the private shuttle in silence, as Vader is waiting for his master to speak.

"Our plans will be enacted soon," Sidious hisses softly, and the man's eyes glow with a sickly yellow light as his glee grows.

"Yes, master," Vader intones, and his own eyes glint golden in the darkened shadows.

"You will be prepared to play your part?" Sidious asks, and Vader bows his head.

"Of course, master," Vader says in reply.

"There is a small task I have for you before we enact your. . .special mission," Sidious says with a smile.

"What is it, master?" Vader asks, his voice mechanical in sound.

"I have sent the leaders of the separatist party to the planet of Mustafar," Sidious mutters, "I want you to travel to the system. . .and dispose of them."

"Your will is my command, master," Vader replies.

"Good," Sidious hisses, "you will leave this instant."

Vader bows his head in a sign of respect to his master, before he turns and heads in the opposite direction. His destination is now the small hanger located on the Chancellor's private vessel.

It takes only moments for Vader to arrive, and even less time for him to activate the fighter that will take him to the planet Mustafar.

Vader slides the ship smoothly out of the hanger, and he is soon gliding out into open space. The brilliant world of Coruscant glitters below him, and he has a clear view of the Chancellor's ship as it enters the planet's atmosphere.

Vader punches in the hyperspace coordinates, and soon his viewport is filled with the blinding whites of passing stars.

Vader settles back into his seat, and his hand subconsciously slips to his waist, where his new cylindrical weapon lies.

The Sith apprentice slides his hand along the lightsaber's smooth hilt, and he feels a tremor inside him at the thought of activating it.

Soon the weapon will have its first taste of blood. To Vader, this is an exhilarating prospect.

_I will not fail my master, _Vader's mind hisses darkly,_ the Sith will have their revenge._

**. o * O * o .**

"This whole business. . ." Windu begins, but he quickly finds himself unable to complete his sentence.

He truly has no words.

Windu had always made his opinions of the boy's highly probably quite clear, but even he had never thought that. . .that Skywalker would become a Sith.

A rogue or dark Jedi, sure, but a Sith. . .the true embodiment of the dark side. The Jedi's true opposite.

"Dark times these are," Yoda mutters, and the familiar saying falls heavy on Windu's head. He has heard those very words far too much lately.

"Dark indeed," Windu mutters, "the darkness is only closing in."

Yoda nods his head, and he closes his eyes as he speaks again. The old master's words hang heavy in the world.

"Find Skywalker we must," Yoda says softly, and Windu hesitates before replying.

"What if when we find him. . .he isn't Anakin Skywalker anymore?"

Yoda's eyes slowly open, but before he can reply a dull knock echoes through the private meditation room the two Jedi are currently occupying.

Windu waves his hand, and the door slides back to reveal a padawan. The young togruta male seems slightly nervous to be standing before the two masters.

"A message, you have?" Yoda asks with a frown, and the padawan nods quickly.

"This is from Master Shaak Ti," the boy says, and he hands Windu a small data pad.

"Thank you," Windu mutters, excusing the padawan. The young togruta hurries from the room, and Windu waves his hand once more to slide the door shut behind him.

Windu flicks the data screen on, and a moment later information begins to flash on the screen. It only takes a few moments of reading for the two master's to abandon their current thoughts of Skywalker.

Several main points jump from the screen, and these words accent the urgency of the situation.

_Seperatist leaders located. . . gathered at secret location. . .awaiting further orders._

"We must send a group immediately," Windu mutters, and as he stands Yoda simply nods in reply.

The old master is silent for several seconds, and Windu hesitates before speaking.

"Is something wrong, master?" Windu asks, as he is vaguely disturbed by this sudden silence.

"A sudden tremor, I felt," Yoda mutters, and his voice is distant, "something. . .dark is to come. Like this, I do not."

Windu frowns at the ominous words, but he tries to look past this and instead focus on the news they had just received.

"The separatist leaders will be captured soon, master," Windu says, "the war might soon be over."

Yoda doesn't reply to this, in fact it is almost as though he hasn't heard the younger Jedi's words. The old master is currently staring out the window, and his gaze travels unseeing over Coruscant's sprawl of buildings.

Windu bows as he takes his leave, even though he is sure Yoda's attention is elsewhere. He then exits the meditation room, and he briskly walks down the hall. His destination is clear in his mind, and he is already running through the list of Jedi to decide who shall accompany him.

The war's end might finally come.

On _Mustafar,_ all will be decided.

**. o * O * o .**

**Okay, little note: I know Sidious didn't create Anakin (im this story, regardless of canon, his master did) but the Jedi don't know that.**

**I don't even know if anyone might have caught that. . .oh well.**

**Please review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Enjoy!**

**. o • O • o .**

Padmé is just debating whether or not to take a nap, when Ahsoka rushes into her room.

Padmé immediately takes in the young togruta's flustered, almost frantic state. In a flash she knows something is terribly wrong.

"Ahsoka," Padmé says quickly, and she slides out of her bed to meet the young Jedi, "what's wrong?"

It takes several seconds for the girl to formulate her thoughts into words, and even then Padmé follows with slight difficultly.

"I-I found out what they're going to do to Anakin - if they find them," Ahsoka says, her tone breathless.

Padmé's heart freezes at this, and her hands fly to her mouth. She takes a moment to collect herself before she speaks.

"Ahsoka, what did you find out?" Padmé says slowly. Ahsoka draws in a trembling breath before she answers.

"They're going to kill him," Ahsoka mutters, "and now, a team of Jedi are being sent out, and I don't know why. . .and everything feels so wrong!"

The girl's words flow in a rush, and Padmé has difficultly following her past her first horrifying words.

_They're going to kill him,_ Padmé's mind whispers.

Common sense whispers in the back of her mind. It tells her that the Jedi are being reasonable in this action, that her husband is dangerous.

Padmé shoves common sense away. Her heart tells her that Anakin can still be saved.

Finally, Padmé catches on to Ahsoka's last words.

"Wait, they're sending a team after him?" Padmé asks, her tone sharp.

"I don't know if they're sending the group after him," Ahsoka says quickly, "all I know is that this group is leaving in about an hour. . .and I have a bad feeling."

Ahsoka's last words are barely above a whisper, and Padmé feels a chill set into her bones. She places a hand on her swollen stomach as the sudden uneasiness rushes through her.

"We must follow them," Padmé says finally, after a long moment of silence.

Ahsoka stares at her in shock, her disbelief quite clear.

"What?" Ahsoka asks, as though she didn't hear the senator right.

But Padmé is quite sure in this. Once she has spoken the idea aloud, a warm feeling feels her.

_This is what I must do._

"We must follow them," Padmé repeats firmly, "if we can get to Anakin first, perhaps I can talk to him. I think. . .I think he might listen to me."

Ahsoka's disbelief only seems to grow at this, and she watches the woman before with an expression of wariness.

"Are you sure?" Ahsoka asks slowly, "you aren't exactly in the. . .condition to travel."

Padmé rolls her eyes at this, and a faint glint of amusement shows in her eyes.

"Please, I'm pregnant not gravely ill," Padmé says evenly, "we must leave immediately though."

**. o • O • o .**

Obi-Wan stands beside the group of Jedi that were chosen for this mission. The capture of the head separatists will be a grand win for the Republic.

Mace Windu and Shaak Ti stand to one side, and the quietly converse over their planned route. Aayla Secura stands patiently beside Obi-Wan as they wait for their fellow Jedi to accompany them aboard the ship.

As Obi-Wan waits, he tries to ignore the feeling of foreboding that falls upon him.

Ever since hearing the name of their destination, Obi-Wan has felt this. Something is coming, this he knows. . .he just doesn't know what.

Obi-Wan doesn't like this uncertainty, and the anxiety it brings.

This mission though, helps distract Obi-Wan somewhat from the far bigger problem that has been plaguing his mind.

Anakin.

There has been no sign of his once friend since his flight from the temple. There have been discussions over a search for Skywalker.

These talks always end in arguments over how to handle the situation.

Should they take care of their problem by getting rid of it? Or is it possible. . .even in the slightest. . .for Anakin to be turned back to light?

Obi-Wan is drawn from his thoughts when his three fellow Jedi make their way up the ramp to their ship. The vessel is of moderate size, as they expect to have multiple captives upon their return.

The four Jedi quickly make their way to the cockpit, and soon coordinates are set. In moments they are drifting from the hanger, out into open space.

Just as they are leaving Coruscant's atmosphere, Obi-Wan feels a slight tremor race through the force. It feels almost familiar. . .but he can't quite place it. . .

Obi-Wan glances towards the other Jedi in the cockpit, but each seems preoccupied with the mission at hand. Obi-Wan can clearly sense their clouded thoughts, and his own mind reflects these things as well.

_It was probably nothing,_ Obi-Wan thinks, and he shrugs the slight tremor off. Soon it is forgotten amidst the cloud of foreboding that returns.

_I have a bad feeling about this,_ Obi-Wan thinks to himself.

**. o • O • o .**

By some measure of luck, Padmé and Ahsoka are able to sneak their way onto the ship without being spotted.

This, of course, is the easy part of their little escapade. The hard part will be not getting discovered by the four Jedi masters roaming the ship.

That is why, as Padmé and Ahsoka are huddled in a small supply closet, Ahsoka pours all of her energy into one task.

Focusing her mind, shielding them both from the master's minds.

Ahsoka draws in deep shallow breaths as she draws herself into a peaceful meditation. Padmé sits quietly next to her, so as not to disturb her companion.

The two get as comfortable as they can, and they settle in for the long ride ahead of them.

Even though Padmé knows much uncertainty and a fair bit of danger surrounds this little adventure. In fact, it could all end up being a wild goose chase, as they aren't even certain that Anakin will be there when they arrive.

But, even amidst these waves of doubts, Padmé can't help but _feel_ as though this is right. As if this is something she must do.

And after weeks of feeling so encompassed by her grief, by her loss, Padmé clings to this hope like a lifeline.

_Anakin can be saved, _she reassures herself.

**. o • O • o .**

Darth Vader's ship slips from hyperspace, and the fiery, red planet of Mustafar fills the viewport of his fighter. In moments his ship has entered the atmosphere, and he guides his ship towards the coordinates blinking on his scanner.

Vader smoothly flies his vessel through the clouded of ash and sulfur that surround the planet, until he comes to a giant facility hovering over the planet's lava surface.

He effortlessly maneuvers his craft onto the landing platform, and in moments he has disembarked from his ship.

Vader flips his hood up, and the shadows of the cowl shield his face.

Easily, he can sense the signatures of his targets. They huddle together inside of the structure, their worries evident.

Vader draws off of this fear, their weakness, and from it he finds strength. Soon he is stepping forward, his prey clear in his mind.

In moments Vader has reached the council room where the weaklings gather. With a flick of his hand the blast door rolls up, and he marches in.

There are cries of surprise when he enters, before a flicker of understanding rushes through the crowd.

Nute Gunray steps forward to speak. The nervousness he feels at facing the cloaked stranger is quite evident.

"Lord Vader?" he asks, and his voice trembles slightly.

Vader simply bows his head in response.

The nervousness does not subside in the group, as the gathered figures can easily sense the feeling of danger that rolls off of this unknown figure.

After a long stretch of silence, Gunray braces himself to speak again.

"Darth Sidious told us that you would escort us to somewhere. . .safer," Gunray says slowly, "I assume you already have a place chosen.

There is a long pause, in which the silence seems to stretch on. Finally Vader speaks.

"Where are the others?" he asks, and his voice comes out in a hiss.

Several in the room start at his words, and many pointed looks are sent in Gunray's direction. It is obvious he has been chosen as their unofficial speaker.

"Some are in the lower levels," Gunray says finally, and uneasiness reaches his tone, "they are going over some of the data we have acquired. If you want, we can fetch them-."

Vader cuts him off before he can continue.

"That won't be necessary," Vader snaps, and after a long pause he continues, "there has been a change of plans."

The air, though stifling hot from due to the planet's nature, seems to chill at these words. The edge of danger in the speaker's tone is obvious, and many exchange uneasy looks.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't understand," Gunray says after a long pause.

When Vader replies, his tone sounds almost amused. The cloaked sith laughs harshly before replying.

"That's the point," he says finally.

In a moment the man's demeanor changes. A silver cylinder appears in his hand, and a moment later a glowing blade appears.

The blood red of the saber casts an eery glow on the bearer's features, but for the first time the gathered separatists are able to see the man's features.

What they see makes many back away in fear.

They glowing golden eyes show no sign of remorse, no sign of pity. The man's lips are twisted into a smirk of mixed determination and pleasure.

Vaguely, Gunray wonders if he knows this man. He is sure that he has seen him somewhere before. . .

But he finds that he can't match this. . .terrible creature. . .with anyone he knows.

"I don't understand," Gunray repeats, and this time his voice is weak. The words are barely audible.

The separatists can clearly watch as the smirk floods into a smile. The sight is quite horrifying, and many second glances are sent towards the open doors.

A moment later the man's hand flicks up, and these exits slide closed.

With a flash the saber flies up, into an offensive position.

Then the death begins.

Vader's lightsaber flies at unimaginable speeds, and it effortlessly slices through the skin of it's prey as they try to flee.

Soon, the air is ringing with the hum of the blade and the cries of the dying.

Vader's hate is only fueling by their cowardliness, by their unwillingness to even try and fight for their lives.

Even in their final moments they flee. They pound their fists against the blast doors, as if someone might here their final pleas.

Vader cuts them down where they stand.

In only a few minutes, the floor is coated with a thin layer of bodies. Vader slowly deactivates his saber, and he slowly observes his work.

A few of his victims are still alive, and Vader can hear their labored breaths. Their fear skyrockets, and their heart rates quicken as their lives slowly draw to a close.

Vader momentarily muses over just ending their sorry existences, but he quickly finds he prefers this option much better.

He revels in their suffering, in their pain.

And so, he leaves those few still alive. He can already feel their lives drawing to a close as they breathe their last breaths.

He slowly makes his way to the lower levels, where he can sense the last few of the leaders. They are oblivious to the deaths of their companions, but that small fact matters not.

For in only a few moments, they will join them.

**. o • O • o .**

**Yeah, climax is in the next chapter. I'm looking forward to it!**

**Please review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Super sorry for late update! I hope I make up for it in this chapter!**

**And so the climax begins!**

**Enjoy!**

**. o • O • o .**

The Jedi quickly disembarked upon their arrival to Mustafar. The coordinates they had been given landed them in what appeared to be some sort of mining facility.

Immediately upon exiting their ship, the Jedi felt it. The emotion was tangible in the hot, dry air.

Fury.

The passion sparked like a flame, and the Jedi could feel it emitting from somewhere within the compound.

Without any further discussion, the group set off at a sprint. They headed straight for the darkness they sensed ahead.

And whatever might lie in wait for them there.

**. o • O • o .**

"They've left the ship," Ahsoka says softly, and immediately Padmé relaxes beside her.

The woman lays a calming hand on her stomach in an attempt to soothe the restless children residing within.

_Shh, all will be well soon,_ Padmé thinks gently.

"We must hurry," Ahsoka continues, a frown forming on her face. The young padawan's hands slip to the sabers strapped at her waist, and she slowly stands.

Padmé agrees with her. Even though she herself is not force-sensitive. . .it is almost as though she can feel the sense of urgency ringing through the air.

"Let's go," Padmé says with a nod.

**. o • O • o .**

The Jedi sprint through the compound at a reckless speed. The urgency hanging around them urges the group to go faster, to hurry. It whispers of a ticking clock, of seconds running thin.

Obi-Wan can't help but feel an overhanging premonition.

As if they are rushing to their deaths.

"There is something. . .ahead," Aayla whispers, her voice barely audible. The group comes to a sharp stop, and in a flash four blades ignite.

The twi-lek master gestures to the doorway ahead, and her companions nod in agreement. They can sense the flutter of life ahead of them. The small pulse is barely audible through the waves of suffering that linger in the air around them.

Slowly, cautiously, the group makes their way forward. In moments they are before the door. Obi-Wan takes in the tightly shut blast door.

With a wave of his hand, Windu unlocks the door. A low screech fills the air as it slides upwards.

As the obstacle falls away, the Jedi are met with a clear view of the scene before them.

A massacre.

Aayla gasps lightly, and Windu mutters a curse in some unknown tongue. Shaak Ti and Obi-Wan remain silent as they stare at the room in apparent shock.

Bodies are everywhere, some complete. . .and others missing limbs. The smell of charred flesh lies thick in the air, a distinct aroma that is overpowering in its evidence.

A severed arm lays but a few feet from the Jedi. Somewhere in the room, it's owner lies.

"What could have happened here?" Shaak Ti asks, her tone barely audible in its softness.

Before any Jedi can speak in reply, a low moan pierces the air.

In moments Obi-Wan is stepping forward, his companions not far behind as they make their way towards the source of this noise.

The group cautiously makes their way across the room, and they gravely do their best not to trample the scattered bodies in their trek across the floor.

As they get a better glimpse of the inflicted wounds, one thought is clear in all of the Jedis' minds. They know exactly what sort of weapon would cause such slicing cuts. A blade that can cut through limbs without fail.

_No simple bounty hunter did this_. . .Obi-Wan's minds whispers.

He already knows he doesn't want to meet whoever did this deed. Anyone capable of this mindless killing. . .of this slaughter. . .

Is a monster.

Finally, the Jedis' seemingly endless trek brings them to the other side of the room. Here, one of the separatist leaders lies.

The nemodian is not quite dead, but he is quite close to it.

A harsh slash runs across his right shoulder. The creature is already partially in shock from the wound, and his breaths come harsher and quicker as his body battles to buy just a few more seconds of life.

Shaak Ti and Aayla waste no time in kneeling beside the dying creature. Obi-Wan and Windu move closer, their hopes rising at the thought that they may be able to gather some bit of information, no matter how small, from this victim.

"Can you tell me. . .who did this to you?" Shaak Ti asks, her voice gently as she helps maneuver the nemodian into a more comfortable position.

The dazed creature sucks in a sharp breath. It is obvious that, despite his current condition, he heard her quite clearly.

"He. . .was terrible," the separatist leader whispers, his voice rough and garbled.

"Who? Who did this to you?" Aayla asks, softly urging for the creature to continue.

The nemodian's breaths become harsher and quicker, and it is obvious that his final moments are nearing. With his final breaths, he manages to lay a name to his attacker.

"Darth. . .Darth. . .Vader," the creature breaths. This small reply elicits a round of sharp coughs from the seperatist. Soon he is gasping for breath, the Jedi helpless to do anything but watch the events as they unfold.

After only a few seconds of harsh coughs, silence falls on the room. The Jedi feel a slight tremor as the creature becomes one with the force.

**. o • O • o .**

_(a few moments earlier)_

Vader easily carves his way through the remainder of the separatists. With every one he cuts down, his rage only grows.

The dark side of the force swirls around him, its power laying with in easy reach. The act of drawing from the endless wealths of darkness is so effortless. For Vader, it is easier than breathing.

Within moments, his prey is dead.

Vader is left standing over his final victim. The decapitated head slowly rolls away from the body. The victim's expression is still frozen in a look of shocked terror.

Vader feels a rush of satisfaction as he takes in the destruction, the death.

In a single moment, this feeling shatters.

Vader's head snaps up, and his eyes narrow as the familiar presences register.

_Jedi. . ._

A snarl forms at the Sith's lips, and the edges of his golden pupils slowly rim with red.

Vader's saber ignites once more, and the blade of blood hums with an urgency that the Sith feels in his bones.

For the first time, his saber will cut down a worthy opponent.

It will taste a Jedi's blood.

**. o • O • o .**

"A. . . Sith," Aayla whispers.

The Jedis' eyes slowly trail over the massacre seeing the death in a new light.

"The one we've been looking for?" Shaak Ti asks slowly. In response to her question, their is only the blank sense of unknowing.

_We are so blinded_, Obi-Wan thinks to himself, _how else would the darkness climb in right before us. . .right before our eyes. . ._

"He's still here," Windu says softly.

Obi-Wan's throat constricts slightly at this, and if anything the darkness surrounding him seems to press even closer.

"You can feel him?" Obi-Wan asks, a slight frown crossing his face. The younger Jedi cannot sense anything through the dark.

Windu slowly nods, a grimace alighting his features as his hands slips down to unsheathe his purple blade.

"He's headed our way," Windu says softly, "his signature is faint. . .but. . .his intentions are clear."

The massacre surrounding them seems to sing out once more, and Obi-Wan struggles to shove these thoughts away.

_There are four of us_. . .he mind says, calling to logic.

His traitorous self-conscious calls to the facts. It draws his eyes to Windu's new mechanical hand, to how the older Jedi holds his saber awkwardly in his opposite hand.

_What exactly are we dealing with here_? Obi-Wan thinks to himself as the death around him calls out once more.

**. o • O • o . **

The group of Jedi stand defensively. The heat of the lava simmering below floats upon them. The barren platform practically radiates heat.

"I can sense him," Aayla mutters, and her eyes slowly scan the perimeter of the small landing dock. Just beyond their sight are several places where this hidden Sith could be hiding.

"He is here," Windu mutters in reply.

Obi-Wan tries to stretch his senses out, to feel what his companions sense. Once more, he is blocked by the ever present darkness.

Suddenly, Shaak Ti tenses beside him. Her cyan blade raises slightly, as if warding off the danger lying beyond.

"There," she whispers.

Obi-Wan turns his head sharply, copying the movements of his fellow Jedi as they turn to face the threat.

At the edge of the platform, cloaked in death and shadow. . .stands a figure.

His figures are clouded, shielded by the folds of his cloak. The air seems to shimmer around him, almost like a mirage.

For a moment, Obi-Wan thinks the image is simply his imagination. That the intense heat is causing some sort of reflection.

Then, the man moves.

He glides forward a few paces, his steps confident and devoid of any fear. He only stops when the four glowing blades slide into defensive positions, their owners daring him to step closer.

The figure makes no move to step forward again, and he seems almost to be. . .waiting for something.

Windu shifts slightly beside Obi-Wan, and after a long moment passes, he speaks.

"Reveal yourself to us, Sith," Windu snaps, his voice bitter in its commands.

The figure tilts his head slightly, almost as if in consideration of the Jedi's words.

Several long moments pass, before hands slip out from the cloak's folds. A second later, the length of fabric flutters to the ground.

Obi-Wan's heart freezes as the cloaked figure's true identity is revealed. His breath catches as he sees the face of a man who to him was once a brother. . .a son. . .

Out of all of the Jedi, Windu recovers from his shock first.

"Darth Vader," Windu says softly, his tone musing. . .almost as if he is mulling the title over, "it appears your true nature has been revealed, Skywalker."

In response Anakin defiantly lifts his chin. The action speaks of a stubbornness Obi-Wan knows well.

"Jedi," Anakin hisses simply in response. His eyes glow with unfiltered fury, and Obi-Wan can feel the gaze as it burns into his own.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan mutters, his voice weak, "Anakin. . .stop this. We can help you."

Anakin stares at him, surprise evident on his face. In only a moment, this feeling fades. . .and it is replaced by a smug satisfaction.

"Why would I wish to return with you?" Anakin snaps, "the light side of the force is weak. . .only through the darkness can one achieve true power."

The young man's eyes burn with an almost madness, and the air around him crackles with uncontrolled energy.

"You truly have fallen, Skywalker," Aayla mutters, her gaze shaken as she stares at the man before them, "to speak the words of the Sith."

Anakin snarls at her comment.

"You will die, Jedi," Anakin hisses.

At this, Windu laughs.

"You're outnumbered, Skywalker," Windu snaps, his tone stern, "you should have fled while you could."

Anakin turns his gaze upon the older Jedi, and his golden eyes slowly trail down to the metal claw currently curled against Windu's side. A smirk appears on Anakin's lips, and his gaze grows darker.

"We'll see about that," he says, his words barely audible.

A moment later, he has called a lightsaber to his hand. An unfamiliar red blade appears, and it glows harshly in the shimmering air.

Anakin flings one hand out, and Aayla is thrown back. She hits the wall behind them roughly, before she crumples lifeless to the ground. Only through the force is Obi-Wan able to tell that she is still alive.

Barely.

Before any of the Jedi can move to assist their fallen companion, Anakin has thrown himself forward. His movements are cold and calculated, with each one made specially to cripple them further.

Anakin attacks Windu first, knowing that in his weakened state he will be the easiest to defeat.

Windu is unable to keep up with the flurry of blows that are rained down upon him, and a moment later he too joins Aayla's lifeless form.

Obi-Wan and Shaak Ti move closer together as Anakin turns to face them.

Obi-Wan struggles to keep his focus steady, to keep his mind concentrated on the events playing out before him. He battles the shock at seeing two of his companions felled so early in the battle.

He struggles to reconcile this. . .machine. . .to the man he once knew.

His mind slowly recalls the name he had heard earlier, the name of a Sith Lord.

Finally, he connects the pieces, and understanding flashes within him.

Anakin Skywalker, is dead. Destroyed by the dark side of the force.

Darth Vader, now resides in his place.

**. o • O • o .**

**So, second half of the battle to come.**

**Little side notes: I hope you don't think Aayla & Windu were taken out to quickly. . .but keep in mind that Aayla was taken by surprise & Windu is definitely not at his best. He did only get his saber hand cut off like a week ago. . .**

**Padmé & Ahsoka will show up again, don't worry! Maybe things will finally start to get better. . . **

**Please Review!**


	21. Chapter 21

**So sorry for the late update! My schedule's been a little hectic lately. . .**

**Warning: mild cliffhanger. . .**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**. x • X • x .**

Padmé gingerly fingers the trigger of her blaster as she follows Ahsoka down the ship's ramp. The young Jedi holds up a hand in a stopping gesture, and Padmé pauses as she waits for the okay signal.

As Padmé crouches just inside the ship, she takes a moment to observe the small sliver of planet that she can see from the ramp's small opening.

Even here, inside the ship's cool interior, she can feel the blistering heat rising up from the planet's surface. The air reeks of ash and sulfur, and sparks spiral down as if raining from the sky.

"Do you hear that?"

Padmé's thoughts are broken by her young companion's words, and she takes a moment to listen before replying.

"Hear what?" she asks, a slight frown creasing her features when she doesn't hear this new noise.

Ahoska pauses for a moment before answering, and she tilts her head slightly as if listening more intently.

"It's coming from over there. . ." she says slowly, her voice contemplative. The togruta vaguely points towards one of the buildings Padmé can barely make out in the distance.

Padmé narrows her eyes, and she tries to focus harder in an attempt to hear this mysterious sound.

"I don't hear anything," she says finally.

Ahsoka dully shakes her head.

"I. . .it sounds almost like-," she says slowly, before suddenly tensing.

"Ahsoka?" Padmé asks, instantly picking up on the young Jedi's sudden change in mood, "what's wrong?"

Ahsoka wastes no time in a reply, and in an instant she is standing up. All sense of precaution is lost when she rushes down the steps.

"Ahsoka?" Padmé calls once more, even as she struggles to keep up with the younger girls hurried steps.

As if only just realizing her companion's confusion, Ahsoka stops. She quickly turns to face Padmé.

"Lightsabers. That way," she says quickly, her words flowing in a rush, "we must hurry."

Padmé doesn't waste another moment on a reply.

**. x • X • x .**

Shaak Ti and Obi-Wan warily move back as their opponent circles ever closer. The pair stands close together, their sabers locked in defensive stances.

Shaak Ti risks turning her mind away from the fight for a single instant to check in on their fallen companions. In this instant she feels their pain.

At least they are still alive.

Shaak Ti quickly turns her mind back to the fight. She takes a moment to observe the man before her, her mind searching for any signs of the young Jedi she once knew.

The glowing eyes filled with nothing but gleaming hatred shine back at her.

Darth Vader.

With a snarl he throws himself forward, his saber flashing down at the two Jedi. Together Obi-Wan and Shaak Ti block the powerful blow, and they manage to press their attacker back.

Vader slides back for only a moment, before he springs forward once more. He attacks with an almost animalistic fury, his movements speaking of waves of barely controlled aggression.

Shaak Ti finds herself unprepared for the ferocity of his attack. Of course Anakin's style had always been more straightforward and forceful, but this. . .

_He is not Anakin_, Shaak Ti reminds herself firmly.

Together she and Obi-Wan manage to keep up a flurry of defensive strikes. Their two blades weave together to block any blow from Vader's blood-red saber.

After several moments of failed strikes, it appears as though Vader's patience is growing thin.

With a snarl the Sith lord throws himself back, and upon completing his smooth flip he lands in a crouched position on the floor of the landing pad.

Before either of the Jedi can react, Vader throws his hand out. A moment later, Aayla's fallen blade flies into his hand.

Vader ignites this blade as well, and the cyan blade offers a harsh contrast to the his newer saber.

_He once carried a blade such as that, _Shaak Ti thinks to herself.

**. x • X • x .**

Vader throws himself forward once more, and this time he uses both blades to attack. His dual wielding strategy makes it easier for him to keep up with the blades of his opponents.

The trio continues on in their dance across the landing pad. Sparks fly around them, and the air shimmers with the heat that seems to flow from the planet's very core.

It seems as though the two sides are evenly matched. Vader's aggressive style leads the attack in the offensive sense, while the two Jedi meet each of his powerful strikes with their own solid defensive moves.

Around them, the battle between light and dark is almost a tangible thing.

The fight seems to last for ages. Time loses meaning as the blades clash against each other, as the choking oppressiveness of darkness swirls ever thicker.

Then, one side manages to land a strike.

In a sudden flash, Obi-Wan breaks the pattern in which the two sides have been falling. He thrusts his saber forward in a seemingly impossible maneuver, and the glowing blade manages to caress Vader's shoulder.

The pain is instant, searing in it's intensity. Vader hisses, his eyes narrowing at the sudden flash of pain. The injured arm flinches slightly, and the blade he carried in that hand slips from his grasp.

Obi-Wan and Shaak Ti draw back only slightly, and they prepare to strike forward once more. They wish to take their opponent down as quickly as possible.

But, before they can move an inch, the air around them changes. It is almost as though a switch has been flipped.

Before, there had been feelings of anger, of fury, swirling around their opponent. Now this is replaced with a pure and focused rage.

With a snarl Vader throws himself forward. His attacks are relentless, and even with his single blue blade he manages to easily slip past the two Jedi's attacks.

The Jedi are unprepared for this level of ferocity, of this sudden burst of strength.

With a sudden flash, Vader's stolen blade manages to slip past Shaak Ti's defenses. The saber slashes across her knee, and she instantly falls to the ground. She tries to push herself up from the ground, but her injured limb will not support her weight.

She bites back a gasp of pain as the burning sensation slowly travels the length of her leg. She tries to focus on the fight happening only feet from her, but her mind is blurred by the pain.

After taking care of Shaak Ti for the moment, Vader wastes no time in attacking his old master.

Obi-Wan, still in shock from Shaak Ti's defeat, finds it increasingly difficult to keep up with Vader's strikes.

Obi-Wan can feel that he is quickly begin overpowered, that time is running thin. In one last ditch effort, he tries to find reason in his old friend.

"Anakin, please. You don't have to do this," Obi-Wan whispers, his voice hoarse and strained.

Vader snarls in response, and if anything - his strikes grow faster.

"I do," he snaps in reply.

Obi-Wan wearily shakes his head, even as he blocks a strike mean to decapitate.

"No, this isn't you Anakin. I don't know what they did to you - but this isn't who you are," Obi-Wan says, his words coming fast now.

Vader's eyes flash, and when he speaks his tone trembles slightly.

"You know nothing," he hisses, "nothing. This. . .it is as it must be."

Obi-Wan feels a flash of pain strike his heart, and a heavy weight settles over him as he tries to find reason once more.

"Anakin, please. You don't have to-."

This time, Vader doesn't let him finish.

"NO!" he cries, and he thrusts his hand forward.

Obi-Wan is thrown backward, and he slams agains one of the support columns. Vader's hand shakes slightly at the sheer measure of power unleashed upon his old master.

"No," Vader hisses once more, his voice barely above a whisper.

He begins to walk towards Obi-Wan, his steps deliberate and slow. Obi-Wan vainly tries to fight against Vader's grasp, but he finds himself unable to move.

In a matter of moments, Vader is standing before Obi-Wan. The cyan blade is held loosely in his grasp, and the appearance is almost relaxed.

"Anakin. . .brother. . .don't. . ."

These words are all that Obi-Wan is able to mutter before his ability to speak leaves him.

For a second, it appears as thought Vader is going to strike Obi-Wan. A single blow would end his old master's life, and Obi-Wan would be unable to even lift a hand to defend himself.

But, instead of striking, Vader's hand relaxes. Obi-Wan falls in a heap on the floor, his legs collapsing as feeling floods back into his limbs.

Vader stands above Obi-Wan, and for a long moment he stares down at the fallen Jedi. His gaze is almost curious, and it holds a slight trace of confusion.

For a moment, Obi-Wan sees a flicker of the old Anakin. A shiver of pain races across Vader's face, almost as though the light hiding within him is struggling to break free.

But, far to quickly, this moment passes. Vader's hand tightens on his saber, and a look of determination sets into his eyes.

Slowly, the blade rises up. Obi-Wan's eyes follow the saber, and he makes no move to stop it's path.

_Anakin is dead_, Obi-Wan's mind whispers.

A look of almost satisfaction makes its way onto the Sith's face as the saber, slowly, begins to fall.

Time freezes, when a frantic shriek echoes out from the opposite side of the platform. Two voices mingle together, their tones a mixture of shock and determination.

_"__Master, no!"_

_"__Anakin! Stop!"_

Vader freezes, and the look of satisfaction slips from his face. In an instant, his fallen victim is forgotten, and he slowly turns to face the source of this noise.

. x • X • x .

Vader's mind is a blur. His thoughts are confused, a mixture of frantic images and words.

_Obi-Wan. Brother. Jedi. Enemy. Friend. Revenge. Death. Murder. Teacher._

Half of him wants to kill the Jedi kneeling before him, while another, deeper part, is sickened at the very thought of harming this man.

The deeper part, the weaker part, is no match for the darkness.

The darker part laughs at the weaker sides pleas, and slowly the blade begins to fall.

But, the darkness' actions are interrupted. The moment of victory is shattered, by a sudden burst of light.

Slowly, Vader turns. Confusion fills him as he faces the source of this new light. The brightness of which is both painfully illuminating, and comforting in it's warmth.

_"__Padmé?"_

**. x • X • x .**

**So, big moment coming up. . .light or dark, death or life. . .really depressing stuff.**

**Please review!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Enjoy!**

**. x • X • x .**

Padmé stands frozen, both from shock and horror. Her legs tremble beneath her, as though at any moment she might fall.

Three Jedi lie fallen, sprawled across the landing pad. From this angle, one cannot tell whether any of them are dead or alive.

At the other side of the floor, the final Jedi kneels. A cerulean blade is held above him, and it hovers. . .ready to fall at the slightest twitch.

Padmé's husband wields the blade.

_Anakin_, her heart aches, and a sob forms in her throat. Both she and Ahsoka cry out at the same time, their voices mingling into a desperate plea.

"Master, no!"

"Anakin, stop!"

The hovering lightsaber freezes. Anakin slowly begins to turn. . .

_"__Padmé?"_

The word is a whisper, so soft a murmur that it is nearly lost in the roar currently flooding Padmé's mind. A look of almost disbelief crosses Anakin's face, as though the thought of her standing before him is somehow impossible.

Mingled in with this expression, there is another, more prominent emotion. . _.guilt._

Padmé latches onto this like a lifeline. Slowly, cautiously, she takes a step forward.

All common sense screams at her. It tells her to run, to flee. A tight feeling forms at her throat at the simple memory of the last time she faced Anakin.

When he nearly killed her, and their unborn children.

But, for some reason, Padmé finds herself taking another step forward.

Perhaps, it is his eyes. In them, she sees so much pain, so much suffering. In them, she sees the old Anakin.

Another step brings her towards him. He has not made a single move towards her, as he instead still stands frozen.

A few more steps bring her to his side.

Padmé is unable to conceal the faint shiver in her hands as she reaches forward. Her movements are slow, and cautious, like the actions of one dealing with a wounded animal.

One hand slips up to cup his face, while the other falls to rest on the hand holding the lightsaber. With gentle pressure, she pushes the hand down, and slowly the saber falls. With a single flash, Anakin deactivates it, and it lies useless in his palm.

Only when the threat of the weapon has disappeared does Padmé embrace him. She entwines her arms behind his head, and she rests her head on his chest.

Slowly, as if unsure what to do, he returns her embrace.

"Padmé?" he asks, his voice soft and unsure, "what. . .what are you doing here?"

A frown crosses his face, and for a moment his expression wavers. To Padmé it is almost as though she can see his very soul.

There is a wave of darkness, and yet. . .a flicker of light.

This, Padmé latches onto.

She draws back slightly, so that she can look up at him. She forces a slight smile onto her face as she speaks.

"Anakin," she says softly, slowly, "it's time to go home. I-I need you to come with me. For the babies."

Anakin's frown deepens, and his confusion seems to grow at his words.

"But. . .the Jedi. . .I need to. . ." even as he speaks his eyes slowly begin to trail back to Obi-Wan's still kneeling form. The darkness flickers dangerously, and Padmé senses him tense suddenly as a wave of anger floods him.

Desperately, she tries to turn his attention back to her.

"Anakin!" she says, and she struggles to keep her tone even, "look! Ahsoka is here. We both came, to take you home!"

Anakin's eyes trail behind her, where Ahsoka stills stands. Slowly, the dark anger begins to recede somewhat.

Ahsoka walks forward cautiously, until she comes to stand beside Padmé.

The young girl's face is flickering with a storm of emotions, and Padmé can tell she is struggling to keep her feelings from controlling her.

"Master, you need to come with us," Ahsoka encourages, and she gently lays a hand on his shoulder.

Anakin stares at them both, and he remains silent. The battle continues to rage in his eyes, but slowly. . .the light begins to grow strength.

Padmé puts as much force, as much love into her words as she speaks once more. She stares directly into Anakin's eyes, and she tries her hardest to ignore the slight streaks of gold she sees in his blue irises.

"_Anakin_," she says, her voice coming out as a whisper, "_trust me._"

**. x • X • x .**

The light is blinding.

It scorches his very soul, and it convicts him of every wrong. It brings pain, and suffering to the surface, and it takes away all of his passion and strength.

Vader. . .Anakin. . .they are both weak and weary. The battle has drawn each to the point of exhaustion.

_"__Trust me."_

Her voice is soft, and timid. She is obviously struggling against fear, of horror, of pain. . .

_She's afraid of me._

The very thought makes him want to cry, to scream in agony. The thought of her. . .afraid. . .

But, for some reason, even though he can taste her fear. . .she stands strong. Slowly, surely, she stretches one hand forward, and she takes his own in hers.

_Trust me._

And so, even though the darkness shrieks in anger, even though pain wracks every cell of his being. . .he does.

He allows the angel to lead him to the light.

**. x • X • x .**

Only a few standard hours later, the small ship is exiting Mustafar's atmosphere.

Ahsoka is currently at the controls of the ship, and she is doing her best not to collapse from shock and exhaustion as she punches in the hyperspace coordinates.

Only when the swirling lights of hyperspace fill the view port does she find herself able to relax. The young togruta sags back into the pilot's seat, and she wearily passes a hand over her face.

She does her best not to think of the ship's other passengers, of their current states.

At the moment, Obi-Wan is attending to the injured Jedi. Though he himself sustained serious injuries when Anakin threw him into a wall, his wounds are far less severe than those of his companions.

A simple bacta patch is enough for Shaak Ti currently, but she will need healer attention upon their return to Coruscant. The lightsaber slash she attained is enough to seriously hinder her ability to even walk.

Mace Windu also sustained a minor injury in his brief fight with Anakin, but it appears as though with a bit of medical attention he should be fine.

Aayla, however, is the one who is giving them worry.

When Anakin threw her away with a powerful force shove, she managed to hit her head harshly. At the moment, Obi-Wan is able to keep her stable. . .but he is concerned.

I will not have another Jedi die at my master's hand, Ahsoka thinks to herself. She mentally urges the ship to fly faster, even though it she is already pressing it to it's limits.

Slowly, her mind trails to thoughts of her master.

By some miracle, Padmé managed to coax him away from the maddening brink of darkness that threatened to overtake him once more.

Only after much persuasion was Padmé able to lure Anakin back to the ship, and by some miracle she was able to slip him a sedative.

Now, Padmé is standing careful vigil over her husband. She watches him carefully, and she is prepared to give him another sedative should he begin to awake.

Ahsoka can sense them both from the cockpit. Almost against her will, she finds herself zoning in on her master's signature in the force.

Even though it is still shrouded in darkness, Ahsoka finds herself comforted by his familiar presence.

She does her best to focus on this, on the fact that he is safe. She tells herself, over and over, the same words.

_When we return to the temple, they'll help him. They will get rid of the darkness that is threatening to overtake his soul._

_They. . .will kill Darth Vader._

For some reason, Ahsoka finds it somewhat comforting to know that this new figure, this creature of darkness and death, has it's own name.

It helps her to separate it from her master.

Because, even though it goes agains the very Jedi principals she has been taught since birth. . .Ahsoka hates Vader.

_We will save you, master_, Ahsoka thinks softly to herself, _and then. . .Vader will be no more. . ._

**. x • X • x .**

"We have received a transmission from the team that was sent to Mustafar," Adi Gallia begins, and the whole Council listens attentively as she speaks.

"They are returning then?" Ki Adi Mundi asks, and Gallia bows her head in response.

"The message simply stated their time of return," she replies, "and it requested immediate medical attention upon their arrival."

Yoda frowns at this, and the room falls silent as he speaks.

"Trouble, they ran into?" Yoda asks, "tell you why they need healers-did they?"

Gallia shakes her head, and her small action of reply earns a frown from Yoda. It appears as though he is the only one who is mildly concerned with this fact.

"It was a short message," Gallia replies simply, "but they should be returning soon."

The council remains silent as they wait for Yoda to speak once more, but the old master has fallen silent. He stares out the window of the council room, his gaze falling on some unknown object in the distance.

The surrounding Jedi remain silent, as they are quite familiar with the grand master's habits.

Yoda remains deep in thought for several minutes, before he finally speaks.

"Make sure to welcome them. . .we will," he says finally, "something amiss-there is."

And with that, the meeting dismisses. The Jedi file out from the room, heading off to teach their classes or relax in some time of meditation.

Yoda, however, does not move.

His gaze trails back to the window, and he watches silently as the sun slowly dips below the horizon.

The force speaks to the old master, it whispers warnings and premonitions. . .but Yoda finds that he is unable to discern exactly what it is trying to desperately to tell him.

Yoda remains silent for several long hours, not once even shifting in his seat. He is alone with the force and his thoughts.

Finally, after hours of meditation, when the sun is just disappearing behind the tall line of skyscrapers. . .Yoda receives an answer, a command.

The four simple words ring out in his mind, clear and true.

_He can be saved._

**. x • X • x .**

**I hate to say it. . .but it isn't over yet. Anakin isn't quite "dark side free."**

**Hopefully next chapter will be posted soon!**

**Please review!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Enjoy!**

**. x • X • x .**

To say the Jedi are surprised when they discover just who has arrived on the ship. . .who has just been welcomed back inside the temple's walls. . .

Surprise is quite the understatement.

In fact, the Jedi are in as close to panic as they have ever come.

Perhaps, there is even a bit of fear as well.

Of course, no matter their true feelings, they are careful to keep emotionless masks in place. To anyone not directly associated with the order, the Jedi would seem just as cool and passive as ever.

Even as they welcome their newly named enemy back into their midsts.

Perhaps welcome is too. . .soft of a term.

**. x • X • x .**

He stands passive as they strap the durasteel stun cuffs to his wrists. He struggles to feel the flashes of darkness, of anger, as another needle pokes his arm.

The sedatives help numb the darkness somewhat, and it even eases some of the pressure off his mind.

The turmoil still remains, but he finds that he is able to breath a bit easier. Perhaps, in knowing that he cannot reach for the force, the darkness has eased up somewhat.

Though it is still lying in wait, for the moment it is quiet. It waits for the right moment to strike.

Anakin only hopes that he will be ready to fight back when the darkness rises again.

Only when the Jedi feel that he is sufficiently bound, do they lead him deeper into the temple. Six Jedi masters escort him through the halls, their hands resting casually on their lightsabers as they march.

Anakin knows they won't hesitate to cut him down.

He recognizes a face or two among those surrounding him. Fellow Jedi, who he has fought and trained besides.

_I suppose they think me their enemy now_, Anakin thinks, somewhat mournfully, _and, in all truth, I guess that I am._

He doesn't need the force to feel their sharp distrust, their fluttering fear. Anakin can see these emotions in the sideways glances they toss him.

He sees far worse in the Jedi that they pass in their trek through the halls.

Younglings cling closely to their masters, and their eyes reflect their uncontrolled fear. Older padawans and knights glare at him with near hate.

Through it all, Anakin finds that he doesn't care. What they think, what they say. . .it is nothing compared to the things he tells himself.

The things the voices whisper in his mind.

_Murderer. Hero. Evil. Good. Brave. Coward. Dark. Light. Jedi. Sith._

The two sides flicker constantly within him.

Even now, the two sides have very different views of their current situation.

For now, Anakin Skywalker is in control. He sees the sense in the Jedi's precautions, their worries. Anakin he wants nothing more than to begin taking steps in the right direction, to begin the slow crawl away from the Dark.

On the other hand. . .

Darth Vader simmers just below the surface. For now, he remains in the shadows. Anakin managed to gain control once more, and he was able to push Vader out of control.

But, he has in now way defeated the dark.

**. x • X • x .**

Anakin kneels before the Jedi council.

Or at least, what's left of them, anyway.

Anakin struggles to keep his gaze on Master Yoda, and not on the empty chairs around them.

More than a few of the room's occupants are currently in the medical ward. As of now all are on the road to recovery, though their injuries might keep them from the battlefield for awhile.

However, there are a few seats around the room that will remain empty. Their occupants will never again grace the council chamber room.

It is these chairs that Anakin refuses to look at. Because, even as he sees them from the corner of his eye. . .the memories flash in his mind. . .

"Anakin Skywalker."

His mind snaps suddenly from his scattered thoughts when Yoda speaks. His gaze slowly trails back to face the master.

Yoda watches him for several long moments. The ancient Jedi's expression is carefully guarded so that not trace of his true emotion is revealed.

Anakin struggles to meet the master's gaze. The darkness shies away from the master, and it takes all of Anakin's self control to keep from flinching away.

He remains silent as Yoda speaks once more.

"Anakin Skywalker," the master says slowly, as if testing each word, "or, is it now Darth Vader?"

Instantly, the mood in the room sharpens. The darkness snaps lightly, it threatens to take control.

Anakin desperately searches for an anchor, a source of light.

A long moment passes, before a sudden warmth washes over him. Without turning, Anakin can feel Obi-Wan's reassuring smile.

And suddenly, he almost feels at peace.

He draws in a slow breath, and he chooses his words carefully as he replies.

"At the moment. . .to name me as simply one or the other would be inaccurate," Anakin says softly. A slight muttering washes over the room, before a Jedi moves to speak.

"So you admit to being a Sith?" Kit Fitso asks pointedly.

Tension lies thick in the air, and the resounding silence grows as the room waits to hear Anakin's reply.

The words taste sour on his mouth as he speaks.

"I have been named a Sith," he replies softly.

Instantly, Jedi move to speak, to express their horror at this statement. Voices are raised above their normally soft tones, and harsh glances are tossed towards the human kneeling in the center of the room.

It takes Yoda several seconds to bring the room to order. The harsh pounding of his gimmer stick on the floor echoes throughout the chamber as the voice fall to hushed murmurs.

Yoda addresses none of the accusations tossed towards Anakin, as he instead jumps straight to his own observations.

"Named a Sith, you say?" Yoda asks, to which Anakin simply nods. Understanding flickers briefly across the young man's features as he realizes just what Yoda's next question will be.

"A master, you have?"

Anakin answers this question with a sigh, and a simple reply.

"Yes."

Yoda raises a hand to stop the outraged cries before they can form. Only when he is assured silence does Yoda actually sit back to ponder Anakin's reply.

A weariness falls over the ancient Jedi, and his next words lie heavy in the air.

"A name, your master has?" Yoda asks.

Anakin keeps his gaze level with Yoda as he replies. He wants the master to see the truth clearly, to not question his words.

"Darth Sidious," Anakin replies, and he says each word carefully, "but. . .he is known by another name."

Yoda leans forward slightly in his chair, and a frown slips over his ancient features.

"Tell us this name, you will," Yoda says, his tone holding a slight trace of command.

Anakin bows his head slightly, but he keeps his eyes set on Yoda's as he moves to reply.

"He is-."

But he finds that he is unable to finish.

The pain is sharp, and sudden. It lances through his skull, as piercing as a blade. It lasts for a small eternity of measured moments. . .

Before Anakin's mind falls to black.

**. x • X • x .**

Obi-Wan stands beside the ancient master, and together they silently watch the patient in the room beyond.

Several healers flutter around Anakin. Their words are muffled by the glass separating them, but it is clear they are at a loss for what exactly caused their patients sudden collapse.

Anakin's screams still ring in Obi-Wan's mind. They lasted only a few moments before he lost consciousness. . .but the sound was one of true pain.

"Whatever caused. . .this?" Obi-Wan asks, his tone soft as his gaze remains trained on the room before him.

Despite everything that has happened. . .the lives lost at Anakin's hand. . .the several times he himself nearly became another victim of Vader. . .

He finds that he still feels the familiar pit of worry deep inside him at the sight of Anakin strapped to a cot in the healer's wing.

"Deep, the bond between master and apprentice runs. Even between Sith," Yoda says softly, "suspect, I do, that pleased his master was not with him revealing his identity."

Obi-Wan slowly nods in understanding, and he wearily runs a hand across his face.

"What does this mean, master?" Obi-Wan asks.

Yoda shakes his head, and his frown deepens slightly as he replies.

"Clouded the force is, clouded indeed," Yoda replies softly. Slowly his gaze trails towards Anakin's figure in the other room, and a long moment passes before continues.

"But. . .perhaps all hope is not yet gone. Perhaps. . .he can be saved."

**. x • X • x .**

Sidious is beyond angry.

No, angry is far too shallow of an emotion to describe his current mood. His rage, his _absolute fury._ . .

_Vader will be punished_, his mind whispers softly in an attempt to soothe the darkness lapping at his mind.

_Yes, he will pay for his misstep._

The thought of punishing his new apprentice helps to brighten Sidious' mood somewhat. The thought of the torture. . .the ways to inflict the worst pain. . .

An almost smile flickers over his shadowed features. The smirk holds a promise of only pain and death for whoever happens to cross his path.

Idly, Sidious' hand slips to his desk. His fingers brush gently across his desk comm-link.

His lips beg to speak the command, to utter the words.

It is only through much restraint and practiced patience that he is able to draw himself back.

_It isn't time_, he reminds himself. The darkness snarls in displeasure at this, but it eases back slightly as Sidious' command.

The darkness is his to command. Not, as in the case of Vader, the other way around.

Sidious sinks back in his chair, and he slowly turns in his seat to face the window panel behind him. The glass wall reveals a stunning view of the city beyond. The buildings stretching out as far as the eye can see, and farther still beyond.

_All mind_, Sidious' mind cackles.

His pleasure continues to bubble, to grow, until his eyes fall on the distant, looming building.

A single temple, towering over all else surrounding it.

Hate simmers within him at the very sight of the vile structure. Sidious makes a mental note to order it's destruction the moment his plans come to light.

_Of course, the Jedi will have to be taken care of first. _. .he thinks to himself.

The narrow minded fools would never understand his plans, would never accept his goals.

_Luckily, I already have a plan in place, _Sidious's mind murmurs softly. Once again, he has to restrain himself from grabbing the comm-link, and issuing the command.

_Order 66 will come too_, he reminds himself.

_And then, the Jedi will be destroyed._

The Sith will rule once more.

**. x • X • x .**

**So, we have a twist or two more before the end finally comes!**

**Please Review!**


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